new evidence has the potential to overturn Toffoli’s decision

The decision by Federal Supreme Court (STF) Minister Dias Toffoli, who annulled evidence related to Odebrecht in Operation Lava Jato, is subject to new consideration. This is what lawyers interviewed by the People’s Gazettegiven the proof of the agreement signed to obtain the evidence, which was the subject of the decision of the STF minister.

“The STF itself recognized the existence of this agreement. He said he was lost, or something like that, and he was found. This is a new fact, capable of making the issue under consideration re-appraised”, said constitutional lawyer André Marsiglia.

A document sent by the Ministry of Justice last week refutes previous information, provided at the end of August, when the department informed Minister Dias Toffolli that it had not found any internal data on the existence of the contractor’s systems that managed the “bribes department”.

For lawyer Antônio Fernando Pinheiro Pedro, the new facts could lead to the decision being annulled. “By comparing the decision with the data now presented, we are facing a material error that could be annulled, as Toffoli did not observe constant evidence in the case file and assumed the exercise of acts that did not exist”, stated Pinheiro Pedro.

Furthermore, the annulment occurred through a monocratic decision by Dias Toffoli, but it can still be analyzed by the other ministers of the Second Panel of the Supreme Court. “Every monocratic decision is subject to appeal to the collegiate body. I understand that even if there is no specific provision, it is possible to challenge the decision in this sense”, said Marsiglia.

Agreement was signed after request for cooperation

There were, from press outlets and supporters of the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), questions about the dates on which cooperation was signed and agreements related to Operation Lava Jato were made. However, in a column published in People’s Gazette, former prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol stated that Odebrecht’s leniency agreements were signed after the request for cooperation made by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF). “International cooperation was requested on May 16, 2016, and the agreement with Odebrecht was only signed on December 1, 2016, that is, 7 months after the request,” said Dallagnol.

The former prosecutor also stated that Odebrecht itself, based on the agreement signed, voluntarily handed over the evidence, which would not depend on international cooperation. “Anyone can get their own documents that are anywhere else, in the country or in the world, and hand them over to the authorities”, said Dallagnol.