Former minister José Dirceu.| Photo: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil.

The Fifth Panel of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) reduced this Tuesday (14) the sentence of former minister José Dirceu in a conviction of Operation Lava Jato. With that, the sentence increased from eight years and ten months to four years and seven months in a semi-open regime. Most ministers decided to exclude convictions for money laundering, maintaining only passive corruption, reported the g1 portal.

The Panel analyzed an appeal from the defense of the former minister and his brother, Luiz Eduardo, who also had the sentence reduced to four years and eight months. The conviction took place within the scope of the 30th phase of Lava Jato, Operation Vício, when Dirceu was accused of receiving around R$ 2 million in bribes in the purchase of tubes for Petrobras.

Ministers João Otávio de Noronha, Reynaldo da Fonseca and Ribeiro Dantas considered that receiving bribes was just a crime of passive corruption. This Monday (13), Dirceu participated in the event celebrating the 43rd anniversary of the Workers’ Party.