In a statement given on April 10, 2017, the contractor’s executive and heir described how the amounts were delivered
Businessman Marcelo Odebrecht reported in testimony to the then judge and current senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil-PR) how the transfer of R$ 300 million from its construction company (today Novonor) to the PT, the president’s party, would have been made Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The statements were made on April 10, 2017 during the Lava Jato operation.
He says that his “main interlocutors” with the government from 2008 to 2015 were the former minister of the Civil House Antonio Palocci and the former minister of Economy Guido Mantega. “Palocci in 1st place, then Guido Mantega”.
“Within this relationship, I negotiated values with them in the more or less accumulated process which, from 2011 to 2015, ended up being an amount that I made available to them of around R$300 million”he said.
He continues: “In two moments there were requests for specific compensation for two claims, the rest were part of a broad relationship where the value was simply negotiated depending on a large agenda that we had with them”.
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According to the businessman, the remaining values were used to “diverse purposes”, from donations to the 2010 and 2014 presidential and municipal campaigns and cash 2 donations. He states that the money was also used to fund the campaign for São Paulo City Hall of the current Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddadin 2012.
Marcelo said that the amount also included the payment of slush funds for campaigns abroad -which he did not detail where they would be from-, “because the PT was interested in supporting the federal government for some reason” and even accounts from the Lula Institute.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF CONVICTION
The minister of STF (Supreme Federal Court) Dias Toffoli annulled on Tuesday (May 21) all decisions made by the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, under the command of Moro, against the businessman in the Lava Jato operation.
“In view of the above, I grant the request contained in this petition and declare the absolute nullity of all acts carried out to the detriment of the applicant within the scope of the procedures linked to the Lava Jato operation, by the members of said operation and by former judge Sérgio Moro in the performance of its activities before the Court of the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba”, says Toffoli in decision. Here’s the complete (PDF – 626 kB).
The investigations into the Lava Jato operation uncovered a corruption scheme in which Odebrecht executives paid bribes to politicians and public officials to obtain works, guaranteeing preference in processes and contracts. Marcelo, then president and heir of the company, was arrested in June 2015.
Toffoli’s decision on Tuesday (May 21) responded to a request from Odebrecht’s defense. The lawyers claim that the businessman’s case was similar to that of other Lava Jato defendants who had their cases annulled due to irregularities in the conduct of the investigations.
According to the minister, the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, under Moro’s judgement, proved to be “partial and acted in collusion with the prosecution”.
Toffoli states that magistrates and public prosecutors who worked in the operation ignored due legal process, the adversary system, broad defense and the institutionality itself to guarantee objectives “personal and political“.
The minister requests the suspension of criminal prosecutions against Marcelo Odebrecht, however, he says that the plea bargain collaboration agreement signed by him during the operation remains valid.
“Given the content of the frequent dialogues between magistrate and prosecutor specifically about the applicant, as well as about the companies he presided over, the mixing of the function of accusation with that of judging becomes clear, eroding the foundations of the democratic criminal process”says Toffoli.
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