After Costa, Youssef is considering a plea bargain.
Lawyer Antônio Figueredo Basto admitted that money launderer Alberto Youssef, arrested in Operation Lava Jato, could change his mind and negotiate a plea bargain with the Justice system, like former Petrobras director Paulo Roberto Costa; “If they make a proposal that meets Youssef's interests, and he is the one who decides, he has every right to seek the best way to go home”; the money launderer is accused of leading a money laundering and bribery ring involving public officials, which moved more than R$ 10 billion; according to a report in Veja magazine, in his testimonies, Costa has already implicated deputies, senators, and governors in the scheme.
247 – After obtaining a plea bargain agreement with former Petrobras director Paulo Roberto Costa, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office is about to finalize a collaboration with imprisoned money launderer Alberto Youssef, accused of leading a money laundering and bribery ring that moved more than R$ 10 billion.
In his testimony, Costa decided to denounce the suspicious relationships between politicians and companies in contracts with the state-owned company. In more than 40 hours of testimony to the Federal Police, Paulo Roberto Costa mentions, according to Veja magazine, governors such as Sergio Cabral (PMDB), former governor of Rio, Roseana Sarney (PMDB), current governor of Maranhão, and the late Eduardo Campos (PSB), former governor of Pernambuco; six senators, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Edison Lobão, and at least 25 federal deputies as part of the scheme.
Initially, Youssef denied that Costa had instructed him to cooperate with the Justice system. But yesterday, his lawyer, Antônio Figueredo Basto, admitted that the money launderer might change his mind. "If they make an offer that meets Youssef's interests, and he's the one who decides, he has every right to seek the best way to go home," Basto said in an interview with Globo.
Youssef's family is also pressuring him to accept the deal and thus avoid some of the future convictions (read more in...). Josias' blogEven with the plea bargain, the money launderer would still have to remain in prison for another two or three years. This has been the obstacle so far preventing him from revealing what he knows. He is also demanding a guarantee of recovering his frozen money.