Of the 27 witnesses presented by the Public Prosecutor's Office, none proved the bribery claim against Lula, says the defense.
"In the case against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his wife Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva, the prosecutors from Paraná who make up Operation Lava Jato listed no fewer than 27 prosecution witnesses, all of whom have already testified before Judge Sérgio Moro. Not only did none of the 27 witnesses from the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office manage to corroborate the main accusatory thesis of the Paraná prosecutors: that the construction company OAS allegedly ordered another company in the same group, OAS Empreendimentos, to "secretly donate" a triplex apartment in a building in Guarujá (SP) to the Lula da Silva couple as illegal payment to the former president for helping OAS Construções secure three contracts with Petrobras," states Lula's defense.
247 - The defense of former president Lula claims that none of the 27 prosecution witnesses against the Workers' Party leader and the former first lady, Marisa Letícia, in the Guarujá triplex case, all already heard by Judge Sergio Moro, confirmed the prosecution's theory that OAS had instructed another company in the same group, OAS Empreendimentos, to "secretly donate" a triplex apartment in a building in Guarujá (SP) to the Lula da Silva couple as illegal payment to the former president for helping OAS Construções secure three contracts with Petrobras.
Check out the full text released this Tuesday, the 14th, by Lula's lawyers, which includes excerpts from the testimonies of Nestor Cerveró and Paulo Roberto Costa:
Testimonies from whistleblowers directly contradict the Federal Prosecutor's Office's accusation against Lula.
The accusation that Lula negotiated bribes with Petrobras executives was denied by the executives themselves during the proceedings, where they testified as witnesses for the Lava Jato prosecutors.
The Brazilian Federal Prosecutor's Office accused former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of receiving embezzled funds from Petrobras in the form of an apartment in Guarujá and the storage of "personal belongings" (in reality, the presidential collection). In the indictment, the Prosecutor's Office stated that the embezzlement from Petrobras to Lula occurred with the participation of executives from the state-owned company. In reality, however, in their testimonies as witnesses called by the prosecution, these same executives denied any knowledge of undue advantages or any participation by Lula in the embezzlement from Petrobras.
In the case against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his wife Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva, the prosecutors from Paraná who make up Operation Lava Jato have listed no fewer than 27 prosecution witnesses, all of whom have already testified before Judge Sérgio Moro.
Not only did none of the 27 witnesses for the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office manage to prove the main accusatory thesis of the Paraná prosecutors: that the construction company OAS had ordered another company in the same group, OAS Empreendimentos, to "secretly donate" a triplex apartment in a building in Guarujá (SP) to the Lula da Silva couple, as an illegal payment to the former president for helping OAS Construções to close three contracts with Petrobras.
In addition to not helping in any way to prove the thesis (Click here and understand why it's amazing.Two of the witnesses brought by the prosecutors, and cited in their indictment, reported facts that disprove the accusatory thesis of the MPF-PR (Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of Paraná).
The witnesses are two former Petrobras executives, Paulo Roberto Costa and Pedro Barusco, both whistleblowers who have agreed to cooperate with the Justice system.
In the indictment that Judge Sérgio Moro accepted to make Lula and his wife Marisa defendants in the criminal case, the prosecutors discuss at length a "context of the facts" for more than 100 pages, but in only one of them do they summarize the concrete accusation they are making against former President Lula:
"Indeed, on dates not yet established, but between 11/10/2006 and 23/01/2012, LULA, consciously and voluntarily, by virtue of his position and as responsible for the appointment and maintenance of RENATO DE SOUZA DUQUE [RENATO DUQUE] and PAULO ROBERTO COSTA in the Services and Supply Directorates of PETROBRAS, solicited, accepted promises of, and received, directly and indirectly, for himself and for others, including through such public officials, undue advantages(...)
The advantages were promised and offered by LÉO PINHEIRO and AGENOR MEDEIROS to LULA, RENATO DUQUE, PAULO ROBERTO COSTA and PEDRO JOSÉ BARUSCO FILHO [PEDRO BARUSCO], to induce them to, in violation of legal duties, perform and omit official acts in the interest of the aforementioned contracts."
In other words, what are the Lava Jato prosecutors objectively accusing Lula of? Of soliciting and receiving undue advantages from a businessman (Leo Pinheiro, of OAS), in connection with three contracts signed between Petrobras and OAS. These advantages were allegedly negotiated and received through executives Paulo Roberto Costa, Renato Duque, and Pedro Barusco.
Thus, in order to prove their claims, the prosecutors called the two executives as prosecution witnesses. And what did they say in the proceedings? Watch the video (which initially also includes excerpts from the testimony of Nestor Cerveró, another former Petrobras executive) or read the transcript below:
1 - Paulo Roberto Costa
Question: Are you aware if former President Lula solicited any undue advantage by virtue of his office?
Answer: I don't have that knowledge.
Q: Are you aware if the former president also accepted promises of undue advantage because of his position?
A: I don't have that knowledge.
Q: Are you aware if President Lula received any undue advantage because of his position?
A: I don't have that knowledge.
Q: Are you aware if OAS offered undue advantage to former President Lula because of his position?
A: I don't have that knowledge.