Proposal presented by investigated businessmen did not prove links with the PCC nor brought relevant advances to the investigations, according to the Public Ministry
The Public Ministry of São Paulo rejected the plea bargain proposal presented by businessmen Mohamad Hussein Mourad, known as “Primo“, and Roberto Augusto Leme da Silva, the “Crazy Beto“, within the scope of Operation Hidden Carbon. The decision was made based on the assessment that the material delivered did not meet the minimum requirements required to formalize the agreement.
Sources reported that the Attorney General of Justice, Paulo Sérgio de Oliveira e Costa, did not proceed with the accusation because those investigated omitted information considered essentialsuch as connections with the First Capital Command (PCC) and details about the operation of the alleged money laundering scheme.
Furthermore, the collaboration did not present concrete elements that proved the participation of politicians or magistrates, limiting themselves to mentioning just one judge already prosecuted by the Public Ministry itself in an investigation.
A investigation uncovers a billion-dollar scheme involving tax evasion, money laundering, corruption and fraud in the fuel sector, which would be controlled by the two businessmen. Both have been on the run since August 2025. The police have evidence that they are outside Brazil.
According to the investigation, the businessmen presented documents, cell phone messages, recordings and payment records that would indicate the transfer of more than R$400 million in bribes to authorities between 2022 and 2024. But the Public Ministry found that the evidence was insufficient to prove the connection between the names mentioned and the PCC, nor to support the scale of the accusations.
Negotiations for a plea agreement have been attempted since last year in different spheres. The first refusals came from the Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Police. In São Paulo, due to the mention of a magistrate, the case was referred to the Attorney General’s Office, which took over the handling of the negotiations. Despite initial progress, conversations have stagnated in recent months.
Sources indicate that the content presented did not bring relevant news to the investigations already underway, which contributed to the rejection decision. Still, the Public Prosecutor’s Office does not rule out the possibility of a new agreementif those investigated present more robust evidence that proves the participation of public agents and details the structure of the criminal scheme.
The proposal had previously been rejected by the Public Ministry of the State of Piauí, which also pointed out the lack of sufficient elements to continue negotiations. The authorities’ objective was to obtain more detailed information about the activities of a structured criminal organization, focused on committing fraud in the fuel sector and hiding assets.
Considered the largest operation of its kind ever carried out in the country, Operation Hidden Carbon investigates financial transactions that could reach R$8 billion. Now, the bodies involved, including the Federal Police, Public Ministry and state police, continue to try to clarify the connections between those being investigated and the alleged money laundering scheme linked to organized crime.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
