Second Panel decided, by 4 to 1, to invalidate evidence obtained without judicial authorization
The Second Panel of the Federal Supreme Court () decided this Friday (19) to annul part of the (PF) investigation that investigated the governor of , .
Based on the accusations, the governor became a defendant in the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) for crimes of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering and bidding fraud.
The accusation involves the alleged diversion of public resources through companies that had contracts with the state government.
According to PF investigations, the companies hired other firms, which had the governor’s family members as partners and carried out the embezzlement. Around R$11 million would have been embezzled, according to the investigation.
Votes
The panel formed a score of 4 votes to 1 to accept the defense’s appeal and recognize that there were irregularities in the investigation against the governor. Virtual voting concluded this Friday.
The lawyers claimed that the investigation was marked by the irregular request of Coaf reports and other measures without judicial authorization.
Mendonça’s vote prevailed in the trial. The minister mentioned that the irregularities occurred at the beginning of the investigations, when financial reports from Coaf were requested by the PF.
The suspicions began to be investigated in 2019. Only in the following years, the case was sent to the STJ, the court responsible for judging governors.
“I partially grant the appeal to recognize, with regard to the patient, the usurpation of the STJ’s jurisdiction in the investigations carried out between 05/25/2020 and 01/12/2021. Therefore, I vote to declare the nullity of the evidence produced against the patient and included in the period, as well as the evidence directly derived from it”, Mendonça voted.
The understanding was followed by the ministers, Gilmar Mendes and Nunes Marques, who, despite following the other colleagues, presented a divergence.
The minister voted to remove Coaf’s intelligence report from the process, but did not annul part of the investigation.
The rapporteur, , was defeated and voted against the governor’s defense appeal.
Judgment
In parallel to the defense’s appeal to the STF, the Special Court of the STJ began on Wednesday (17) the trial of the criminal action against the governor.
In the vote given during the session, minister Nancy Andrighi, rapporteur, voted to sentence Cameli to 25 years in prison and pay R$11 million in compensation. The minister also determined that the governor should lose his position. Then, minister João Otávio de Noronha asked for a review of the process.
Due to the year-end recess, the trial will resume in 2026.
*With information from Agência Brasil
Published by Nícolas Robert
