Ten Investigations Dismissed for Lack of Evidence in Brazil's Lava Jato Police Operation

11/28/2016 - 18h46

Since the beginning of the proceedings related to the Brazilian Federal Police's Lava Jato Operation in the country's Supreme Court (STF) in 2014, the Attorney General's Office and the Federal Police have dismissed at least ten investigations that began from statements given by informers.

A survey by Folha shows that, of a total of 68 inquiries and two preliminary investigations begun since March 2015, seven were dismissed at the request of the Attorney General's Office, and three of the Federal Police.

The dismissals occurred for two reasons: either the collaborators' statements could not be confirmed by the investigators, or, when they were ratified, the case did not configure a crime.

In at least six cases, there were contradictions between different informers and the investigators were not able to define who was telling the truth.

Among the unconfirmed pieces of information there were parts of the statements given by Paulo Roberto Costa, the former Supply Director of Petrobras, Brazil's state-owned oil giant, and Alberto Youssef, a black market currency dealer in the state of Paraná.

The method of investigation used by the Attorney General's Office, which is leading the investigations, is different from that adopted by the Lava Jato task force of the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba (PR), in the area of Federal Judge Sergio Moro.

The Attorney General's Office asked the Brazilian Supreme Court in Brasília to open an investigation for each congressman or for groups of congressmen cited in the plea bargains.

In Curitiba, plea bargains are usually made in an ongoing investigation. In the method adopted in Brasília, the investigation revolves around the confirmation of information given by informers, while in Curitiba, the plea bargains are normally used to reinforce an investigation.

In yet another point of divergence, at the moment of the main plea bargains led by the Attorney General's Office, there are no Federal Police chiefs present.

In the background, the Attorney General's Office says that it is a way of avoiding information leaks. One of the outcomes is that the Federal Police cannot clarify doubts with the informers.

The terms of the statements given by the informers arrive concluded at the police precinct – the police only have to confirm the content or not.

In the requests for dismissal, the Attorney General's Office has presented similar grounds and documents.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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