Investigation points to action in a scheme with minutes and suspicion of obstruction; defense denies irregularities
On Tuesday (March 31, 2026), the Federal Police arrested former Superior Court of Justice advisor Márcio José Toledo Pinto, who was being investigated for participating in a judicial decision negotiation scheme. The preventive detention order was issued by Federal Supreme Court minister Cristiano Zanin.
According to the PF, the measure was requested after indications that the person being investigated tried to interfere in the progress of the investigations. According to , investigators point to a risk of obstruction, which supported the request sent to the STF.
Investigations indicate that Márcio Pinto was involved in drafting decisions that were circulated improperly among those involved. At the time of the events, he worked in the office of STJ minister Isabel Gallotti. According to the corporation, the analysis of metadata from digital files shared among those investigated reinforces the suspicion that the former advisor directly participated in the production of these documents.
The case is part of a broader case that investigates the existence of an organized structure to influence judicial decisions in higher courts. There are suspicions of money laundering and use of influence to obtain advantages.
The week before the arrest, the PF had indicted the former advisor for exploitation of prestige, violation of functional secrecy and participation in a criminal organization. In the final report, the investigators state that there “robust evidence of the existence of a criminal organization structured to negotiate judicial decisions, operating inside and outside of courts”.
To the Poder360Márcio Pinto’s defense that the client denies any practice of monitoring police or public authorities. The lawyers stated that they did not have access to the full investigation that led to the arrest and that they will analyze the elements before expressing their opinion in the case.
The investigation also targets other suspects of intermediating contacts and values in exchange for favorable decisions, expanding the scope of the investigation beyond the STJ.
