STF extinguishes fine of former deputy convicted in Mensalão

Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), decided this Thursday (15) to extinguish the punishment of former federal deputy Pedro Corrêa, convicted in Mensalão for passive corruption and money laundering. The decision was taken in the records of Penal Execution 16.

According to the Supreme Court, Pedro has already served his prison sentence, but he is unable to pay the fine of R$ 3.6 million imposed at the conviction. In a previous decision, Barroso had not recognized the financial difficulty of the former deputy, but his defense stressed that Pedro had already served his prison sentence and his freedom was being “curbed” solely by the lack of conditions to pay the fine.

In the new decision, the minister recognized that, eight years after the beginning of the collection attempts, it was evident that the former parliamentarian does not have enough resources or assets to pay the fine. Pedro Corrêa spent seven years and two months in jail. By law, “in cases where the financial execution of the fine penalty lasts longer than the sentence to prison, the submission of the executed to the criminal effects of the sentence violates the principle of reasonableness and the reasonable duration of the process”.

According to an accounting opinion, Pedro Corrêa would take 200 years for payment. He was also convicted in Operation Lava-Jato for 20 years and seven months in prison for the same crimes. In this process, his sentence continues to be maintained.