Fachin votes to sentence Collor to 33 years in prison

The Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Edson Fachin voted this Wednesday (17) to sentence former Senator Fernando Collor to 33 years and 10 months in prison for passive corruption, money laundering and criminal association. The minister also fixed payment of R$ 20 million for collective moral damages. Fachin is the rapporteur for the criminal action that will define whether Collor will be convicted by the court in a proceeding arising from Operation Lava Jato.

Minister Alexandre de Moraes also voted for the conviction, but has yet to comment on the final sentence. Two former Collor advisers could also be convicted. After the votes of the two ministers, the session was closed and will resume tomorrow (18). So far, the score is 2-0.

Collor will be free to appeal if the conviction is confirmed by the other ministers, informed Agência Brasil. In addition to the vote that began to be read on Thursday (11), Fachin added that Collor, as a former leader of the PTB, was responsible for political appointments for BR Distribuidora, a subsidiary of Petrobras and investigated in Lava Jato.

“Collor received an undue advantage in the amount of BRL 20 million as consideration for facilitating the contracting of UTC Engenharia for the construction of two diesel oil tanks and a floating dock at the Manaus fuel terminal, at the Cacaraí distribution base, in Roraima, and at the Oriximiná fuel distribution base, in Pará,” said the rapporteur.

The Court judges a criminal action opened in August 2017. According to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), the former President of the Republic would have received bribes for his political influence at BR Distribuidora. The crimes would have occurred between 2010 and 2014. Lawyer Marcelo Bessa asked for Collor’s acquittal. The defender stated that the PGR’s accusations are based on testimonies of award-winning and no evidence was presented to incriminate the former senator.

Bessa also denied that the former parliamentarian was responsible for appointing the company’s directors. According to him, the whistleblowers accused Collor based on comments from third parties. “There is no reliable evidence to corroborate this version of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Here is a version posted, solely and exclusively, by award-winning collaborators, who do not say that the collection of these amounts would be related to Collor or with the alleged intermediation of this flagship contract” , he stated.