STF ministers accepted an appeal from Lira’s defense and determined that the complaint should be archived for passive corruption.| Photo: Pablo Valadares/Chamber of Deputies

The First Panel of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) determined, this Tuesday (6), the filing of a complaint against the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), for passive corruption in a case derived from one of the accusations winners of Operation Lava Jato.

In a unanimous decision among the magistrates, the First Panel accepted an appeal from Lira’s defense contesting the accusations about what would be the so-called “PP Quadrillion”, in addition to the change in understanding of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).

According to the complaint, a former adviser to Lira was caught at Congonhas Airport, in São Paulo, in 2012, trying to fly to Brasília with R$ 106,400 in cash, which would have been paid by the then president of the Companhia Brasileira de Trens Urbanos (CBTU), Francisco Carlos Caballero Colombo, to gain political support to remain in office.

Lira was the party leader at the time and claimed to have paid for the advisor’s tickets, but that he was unaware of the money and would not receive the amount. The money was mentioned in collaborations between money changer Alberto Youssef and assistant Rafael Lopes.

The PGR understood, in April, that the complaint started to be supported only by the accusations and that the accusations were not proven. The anti-crime package approved in 2019 prohibited accusations based solely on these collaborations.