Brazil's Attorney General's Office Criticizes the Supreme Court and Lula Asks Proceedings to Be Sent to São Paulo

04/26/2018 - 11h28

On the day after the order made by Brazil's Supreme Court (STF) that took from Judge Sergio Moro parts of the plea bargain agreement made by construction company Odebrecht related to former president Lula, the task force of the Lava Jato operation criticized the measure, calling it superficial and unintelligible, while PT lawyers requested two penal proceedings to be sent to the Federal Courts of São Paulo immediately.

Attorney generals released an official statement which was attached to the proceedings of the case of the countryside house in Atibaia, São Paulo, which allegedly belongs to Lula, one of the two proceedings affected by the Supreme Court order of Tuesday, April 24.

In an official letter to Judge Moro, they defended that the Supreme Court order does not affect the ongoing penal proceedings and that the case must continue in the state of Paraná.

The second group of the Supreme Court decided that parts of the Odebrecht plea bargain related to the case are not connected with Petrobras, the main focus of the Lava Jato operation in Paraná, and thus, must be sent to São Paulo.

Despite the criticism, the attorney general's office believes that this decision is "only a judicial procedure of terms of collaboration" and there is no chance that the trial could change states.

The Curitiba team says the case does have connections with Petrobras and that it has been under the responsibility of Paraná authorities for several years.

The task force believes that it is "unfortunate procedure turbulence," without any consequences related to Judge Moro's capacity to lead the case.

Lula's defense, however, says that the Supreme Court order does lead to sudden consequences.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

Read the article in the original language