Former governor of Rio was sentenced to 11 years and 8 months for at least 2,281 uses of state aircraft; defense says favorable evidence was ignored
A The Superior Court of Justice begins judging, this Thursday (May 14, 2026), an appeal by the former governor of Rio de Janeiro Sérgio Cabral against a decision related to the conviction for improper use of State helicopters.
Cabral was sentenced to for embezzlement, a crime committed by a public servant who appropriates, diverts or misuses money. According to the indictment, he used official aircraft for private purposes on at least 2,281 trips. The defense claims that evidence favorable to the former governor was ignored in the process.
The case will be analyzed in a virtual session. The trial can last up to 7 calendar days, unless a request is made, an in-person session is highlighted or the agenda is withdrawn.
The process that will be analyzed is the . This is a regulatory appeal presented in Cabral’s habeas corpus. In practice, the defense tries to take to the 5th Panel a discussion that has already had an individual decision in the STJ, given by the summoned minister Carlos Cini Marchionatti in August 2025. Here is the (PDF — 60 kB).
ORAL SUPPORT
Cabral’s defense asked that the case be removed from the virtual trial so that it would be possible to give oral arguments in an in-person session.
The request was denied by Marchionatti, who was the case’s rapporteur at the time. In the decision, he stated that the virtual trial of a regulatory appeal is provided for in the Internal Regulations of the STJ and that the oral argument can be made electronically, in audio or video.
The minister also said that clarifications on matters of fact can be presented through written briefs and that any member of the panel can refer the case to a face-to-face trial, if they deem it necessary.
CABRAL SITUATION
Cabral’s defense is trying to reverse convictions imposed on the former governor after a series of decisions that reduced his sentences in recent years.
In March 2024, the TRF-2 of Lava Jato against Cabral. The Court recognized the incompetence of the Marcelo Bretas Criminal Court to judge the cases. The actions were related to the Unfair Play, Ratatouille and C’est Fini operations.
Bretas was removed from office by the CNJ (National Council of Justice) in February 2023, in a decision linked to the investigation of disciplinary complaints about his performance in processes in Rio de Janeiro. In June 2025, the magistrate was compulsorily retired from his position.
Here is the scope of each operation:
- Unfair Play – investigated alleged vote buying so that Rio de Janeiro could be chosen as host of the 2016 Olympic Games;
- Ratatouille – investigated transfers from a company that supplied food to prisons and schools to the Cabral government;
- It’s over – dealt with the alleged receipt of bribes to benefit a contractor in construction work Funderj.
With the TRF-2 decision, Cabral’s sentences were reduced by 40 years and 6 months. At the time, the former governor’s convictions still totaled 335 years in prison.
In the case now before the STJ, the defense questions a different sentence: 11 years and 8 months for embezzlement, related to the use of official Rio government helicopters.
