Documents indicate that the lawyer and NGO were financed by the CV

Lawyer Janira Rocha, former state deputy for PSOL-RJ, is mentioned in bank receipts that indicate payments made by the criminal faction Comando Vermelho (CV). The documents, obtained by the newspaper The state of Sao Paulo and published this Tuesday (14), indicate that Janira would have been paid by the faction.

It was she who accompanied Luciane Barbosa Farias, known as the “Amazonian drug lady” and wife of a CV leader, in meetings with advisors to Minister Flávio Dino, of Justice and Public Security, as revealed on Monday (13). She also participated in meetings with deputies such as Guilherme Boulos (PSOL-SP) and André Janones (Avante-MG), circulated through the corridors of the National Congress and met with minister Luiz Philippe Vieira de Mello Filho, of the Superior Labor Court (TST ).

Although Luciane’s name does not appear on the ministry’s agenda, only Janira’s, the documents show that both the NGO she presides – Liberdade do Amazonas – and the jurist received payments from members of the faction.

Documents reveal that Janira received three transfers from Alexsandro B. Fonseca, identified as “Brutinho” or “Brutus”, a supposed CV accountant, totaling R$23,654 days before Luciane’s first meeting with the MJ’s Secretary of Legislative Affairs, Elias Vaz, in March. The meeting was requested by Janira, as stated by Flávio Dino’s own secretary, commander of the ministry.

CV accounting also shows expenses of R$22,500 from the NGO in February, indicating that the entity would be supported by the criminal faction. Investigations indicate that Brutinho transferred R$3,000, R$5,645 and R$15,000 to the organization, with Janira’s CPF on the receipts as the recipient.

According to documents seized by the Civil Police, that month, the criminal organization covered expenses of R$1,500 for renting a house, R$7,200 for lawyers’ salaries and R$9,000 for employee salaries. There are also records of transfers of R$12,562 and R$10 thousand.

“From the images extracted from the cell phone, it is possible to affirm that the CV faction finances all of the Association’s expenses, such as: house rental payments, water bill, electricity bill, internet, chip plan, chip credits, meter, social worker salaries, lawyers’ salaries, employee salaries, insurance bills, cleaning and stationery supplies, gasoline and employee tickets”, says an excerpt from the Civil Police report.

Brutinho is also appointed as treasurer of the Comando Vermelho in the municipalities of Parintins, Nhamundá and Caruari, in addition to controlling a kind of “box” for contributions from faction members.

AM faction sent money to “headquarters” in RJ

The Amazonas Civil Police investigation began in December 2022, with the seizure of a cell phone linked to the son of the Comando Vermelho “tower” in Maués. The device revealed details of the faction’s accounting, including payments to the “headquarters” in Rio de Janeiro. In October 2022, CV revenue in Amazonas was R$434.3 thousand.

A tabulation made by police officers shows that, from November 2022 to May 2023, Comando Vermelho raised R$3.1 million in Amazonas alone. Of this amount, R$2,800 went to payment of expenses and R$251,100 appears as “leftovers”. The faction raised R$446,000 on average per month during the period.

Janira Rocha, elected state deputy in 2010, faces past accusations of hiring ghost employees. Her connection with the CV adds to other controversies, including her role as director of Institutional Relations at the Instituto Anjos da Liberdade, an NGO also suspected of being a front for the criminal faction.

Recently, Janira took on the defense of former federal deputy Flordelis dos Santos de Souza, convicted of her husband’s murder. The case raises serious questions about the relationship between authorities, lawyers and criminal factions in Brazil.

Ministry says it had no way of knowing about CV payments

In response, the Ministry of Justice stated that the request for a hearing was made by the National Association of Criminal Advocacy (Anacrim), of which Janira is a member, and that the situation of the companion – Luciane – was unknown. Secretary Elias Vaz clarified that the president of the NGO spoke about alleged irregularities in the penitentiary system at the March meeting.

The secretary also claimed that he had no way of knowing in advance about the payments made by Comando Vermelho to the lawyer, and that it would be “absurd” to request a breach of banking secrecy or information from a former deputy who requested a hearing.

“This has never happened before in Brazil. In addition to being absurd, this would be unconstitutional. (…) Obviously I could never have been aware of this on March 14th. I reiterate that I have a recognized and honest political career, and it will not be a supposed administrative error that will tarnish me”, stated Elias Vaz.

The National Secretariat for Penal Policies informed that the diaries of those responsible are “public and accessible to any citizen”, and that “anyone can receive assistance by appointment through the channels of the National Ombudsman for Penal Services”.

The ministry also claims that the Intelligence Directorate “plays a relevant role in prison security and information gathering”, but is not responsible for “preventing people from accessing public buildings”.

Through social media on Monday (13), Luciane spoke out and denied having any relations with Comando Vermelho. “I am not a member of any criminal organization and, like countless other wives and family members, I have been criminalized for being the wife of a prisoner,” she stated.

“I do not see that I am committing a crime in asking for meetings in dialogue nor that the authorities, who are fulfilling the institutional role for which they were elected, received us in different instances in Brasília, can be criticized and disqualified for this”, he said on the networks social.

Luciane’s husband, known as Uncle Scrooge, has been in prison since December last year, after being sentenced to 31 years in prison. She was also sentenced to 10 years for involvement with CV and convicted of laundering money for the criminal organization.

However, he is free to appeal. “As far as I know, in Brazil, defined by the highest court of Justice, a person can only be considered a criminal after a final judgment has been reached,” he argued in the note.

Luciane also cites as one of her agendas the resolution of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), approved last month, which recognized “the unconstitutional state of affairs of the prison system”. According to the STF’s decision, the Union and the states will have three years to develop plans to combat problems in the prison system.

“May we discuss and contribute to the plan that will be made by governments by March 2026,” he said.