Car Wash Operation: Politicians Slapped with Harsher Sentences than Businessmen

11/22/2017 - 11h54

The judges overseeing the Car Wash Operation (Lava Jato) lawsuits in Curitiba and Rio de Janeiro are slapping politicians and former civil servants found guilty of corruption with harsher sentences when compared to the businessmen who offered bribes in exchange for business advantages.

A survey conducted by Folha of the sentences signed off on by Curitiba-based judge Sergio Moro, indicates that politicians and former civil servants received harsher sentences when compared to the businessmen who bribed them.

One of the reasons for this is that several construction firms and their employees decided to collaborate with investigators in exchange for reduced sentences, while guilty pleas also helped ease punishments.

Harsher sentencing for white collar crimes is one of the main strategies that Lava Jato prosecutors and judges have turned to in their fight against corruption. They believe that a stricter approach that raises the stakes for those who practice such crimes will reduce future occurrences.

	Geraldo Bubniak/Agencia O Globo
	Sergio Cabral, former Rio de Janeiro governor was sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption and money laundering

Since Car Wash Operation is on the verge of completing its fourth year and many lawsuits pertaining to the case have not yet been tried, it is still too early to tell if the operation will set a new sentencing standard for such crimes.

In a majority of the 23 cases that have already made their way to the Federal Court of the 4th Region - the appellate court that oversees judge Moro's rulings - harsher sentences were applied. However, in 10 cases, sentences were reduced and even acquittals were made, such as in the case of former treasurer of the Workers' Party, João Vaccari Neto. The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) has not yet made any rulings on appeals concerning Operation Car Wash sentencing.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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