Judge to Hear Charges on 'MDB Criminal Gang' Regarding President Temer's Friends

04/10/2018 - 11h21

Judge Marcos Vinícius Reis Bastos, of the 12th Federal District Court in Brasília, agreed to hear charges of racketeering against nine people, among them politicians from the MDB Party and two close friends of President Michel Temer, Coronel João Baptista de Lima Filho and lawyer José Yunes.

	Reprodução
	João Baptista Lima Filho

Those accused are now classified as defendants and will respond to a criminal proceeding, as Folha had previously predicted on Monday (the 9th).

The charges, referring to what is called the 'Major MDB criminal gang' were originally presented to the Federal Supreme Court in September of last year by then Federal General Prosecutor, Rodrigo Janot, against Temer and some of his most important allies, like former President of the Congress Eduardo Cunha (RJ) and Henrique Eduardo Alves (RN), as well as former minister Geddel Vieira Lima (BA) and former congressman Rodrigo Rocha Loures (PR), who was flagrantly captured on film by the Federal Police running with a suitcase full of money for JBS Corporation.

The prosecutor alleged the existence of an organization that diverted funds from many public entities, among them the Caixa Econômica Federal Bank, the Furnas Hydroelectric Complex, the Ministry of National Integration and the House of Representatives. According to the prosecutor, party members would have received at least R$ 587 million (US$ 172 million) in bribes through the scheme. Those accused have denied participation in illicit activities.

After the House of Representatives barred continuation of the proceedings against Temer, the case was sent back to the Federal Judiciary so that those without privileged standing could be prosecuted.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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