The First Panel of the (Supreme Federal Court) tends to convict the three PL deputies accused of diverting parliamentary amendments, establishing severe penalties and signaling that the court’s response to this type of practice will be strict in similar cases.
The trial of federal deputies Josimar Maranhãozinho (PL-MA) and Pastor Gil (PL-MA) and substitute Bosco Costa (PL-SE), defendants for passive and criminal organization following a complaint from the (Attorney General’s Office), begins this Tuesday (10) and could last until Wednesday morning (11). They deny having committed any crime.
This is the first criminal action on amendment deviations submitted to collegiate analysis since the beginning of the minister’s offensive for more transparency and traceability in the execution of these funds. Therefore, it is considered by congressmen to be a thermometer regarding the position of the STF. The minister is responsible for reporting this specific case.
According to , the scheme involved an attempt to extort the City of São José do Ribamar so that 25% of the amount allocated to the municipality, the third most populous in Maranhão, would be returned to parliamentarians. As a result, of a total of R$6.67 million in resources, R$1.66 million would return to the deputies’ pockets.
The money was not returned, but the PGR considers that, even so, as there would be evidence of the undue charge in dialogues and documents seized throughout the investigation. The investigations began with representation from the city hall itself, which reported the intimidations.
In the process, Maranhãozinho maintains that there is no evidence that he requested an undue advantage for the release of resources. Gil says that his conduct is not considered criminal by law. Costa states that he did not make requests of this nature and that he is unaware of requests made by third parties. The three ask for the evidence to be nullified.
The expectation is that Maranhãozinho will receive a greater sentence than the other two. Privately, two lawyers in the case admitted to the Sheet the possibility of a negative result for its customers, given a scenario in which the STF, worn down by the Banco Master crisis, needs to convey to society a commitment to the ethical agenda.
This judgment is considered a test because there are at least 25 more investigations into amendment deviations being processed in court. The inquiries involve parliamentarians from different political spectrums and were distributed to the offices of several different ministers.
Currently, in addition to Dino and Zanin, at least four other ministers are handling criminal cases on this topic: , , and . Under suspicion are parliamentarians from at least eight parties: PL, PT, União Brasil, PP, MDB, PDT, PSB and Podemos.
In the case of PL parliamentarians, only ministers from the First Panel, the panel to which the rapporteur (Zanin) belongs, participate in the trial. In addition to him, Dino, Cármen and Moraes vote. The conviction is established if three people agree that the criminal action is appropriate, which tends to happen.
During the session, ministers must give a series of messages to Congress. One of them is that the debate does not revolve around the mechanism of parliamentary amendments in itself, considered legitimate, but the need to correct structural problems that have opened the door to cases of corruption.
Another point that must be raised by judges is the need to firmly combat deviations, since the misuse of public funds means less investment in the areas of health, education and public security, ultimately harming the citizen.
As shown by Sheetplans to intensify the pace of operations on suspected irregularities in parliamentary amendments by June. The understanding is that there is enough material under scrutiny by investigators to carry out assessments before the start of the electoral period, which begins in the second half of the year.
