STF suspends blockade of assets of former Petrobras president involved in Pasadena

Minister Kássio Nunes Marques, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), suspended a fine of BRL 10 million and the blockade of assets of the former president of Petrobras, José Sérgio Gabrielli, for his involvement in the suspected overpriced purchase of the Pasadena refinery, in the United States in 2006.

The magistrate responded to an appeal by Gabrielli’s defense against the decision of the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU) which condemned the former president and former director of the International area of ​​Petrobras, Nestor Cerveró, to reimburse the public coffers in US$ 80 million in addition to the individual fine.

When analyzing the case, minister Nunes Marques found that the conviction was basically based on a plea bargain by Nestor Cerveró. The rapporteur highlighted the understanding of the STF that considers invalid the penalty applied only on the basis of a plea bargain, without other minimal evidence to corroborate the accusation.

“The conviction was based solely on the aforementioned evidence, caution and reasonableness recommend suspending the effectiveness of the contested act. The same reasoning should be applied to the procedures under way at the TCU”, he said (see in full).

When granting the injunction, Nunes Marques considered the urgency due to the filing of judicial execution of the TCU decision, in which the blocking of assets subject to attachment can be determined.

The Pasadena refinery was targeted by authorities on suspicion of corruption investigated by Operation Lava Jato due to the high amount disbursed for the purchase. Petrobras paid US$ 1.2 billion and sold it to Chevron, in 2019, for just US$ 467 million.