He stated this Monday (20) that he was the target of a “truculent legal action” led by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the (Supreme Federal Court). He denied involvement in that of the magistrate’s relatives, as shown by the investigation.
The businessman released a statement commenting on the accusations against him. According to the STF, Conde has been considered a fugitive since the beginning of the month, when he was the subject of an arrest warrant ordered by Moraes.
Conde denies being a fugitive and stated that he did not have access to the decision that led to his arrest.
“This refusal prevents me from defending myself and violates several guarantees that no citizen should have to claim in a democracy”, states the note.
“In this truculent legal action, worthy of an exception regime, my family and I were surprised by a search and seizure operation and by an overwhelming exposure to the press, apparently guided by minister Alexandre de Moraes. Unfortunately, the magistrate shuffles the roles of investigator, accuser, judge and offended party, in a confidential investigation regarding the alleged leak of tax data of his wife, lawyer Viviane de Moraes.”
Conde was identified as being responsible for illegally ordering confidential data from his relatives, including Viviane Barci, the magistrate’s wife.
The businessman was the target of six search and seizure warrants in the states of São Paulo and São Paulo. According to the Supreme Court, Conde had provided a list of CPFs and paid, in cash, R$4,500 to “receive the tax declarations obtained illegally”.
Conde is president of STX Desenvolvimento Imobiliário and the Rio Vamos Vencer association. He is the son of former Rio de Janeiro mayor Luiz Paulo Conde, who died in 2015.
“It is necessary to vehemently refute the accusation: the unreasonable accusations published in the press, based on this operation, do not correspond to reality. I have never worked or participated in any organization aimed at obtaining confidential data”, he states, in a note.
“In addition to the embarrassment caused, cell phones and electronic devices belonging to my family members were seized, despite the fact that the court warrants indicated only me as the specific recipient.”
Conde also denied his fugitive status, attributed by the STF, and declared that he had not refused to present himself to the authorities.
“The damage caused to my reputation and my family is concrete and is reflected in the professional, economic and personal field. Despite the regrettable precedents of arbitrary action, in secret investigations under the report of this minister of the Supreme Court of Brazil, I intend to defend myself in an environment of the right to information, full defense, due legal process and judicial impartiality. If I am granted such minimum individual rights, it will be possible to contribute to the truth.”
According to the (Attorney General’s Office), the investigation identified irregular access to data from 1,819 taxpayers, including people linked to ministers of the STF, the (Federal Audit Court), federal deputies, former senators, former governor, heads of regulatory agencies, businesspeople, among others, according to the court.
