Brazil's Supreme Court rejects appeal from Lava Jato target and upholds the validity of evidence.

247 - The Second Panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) decided, by a 3-2 vote, to uphold the validity of evidence obtained through international cooperation against Fernando Cesar Rezende Bregolato, identified as a money launderer in the Lava Jato operation investigation. The panel rejected appeals filed by the defense and confirmed the first-instance decision that accepted the charges against Bregolato.

Accused of money laundering in the Federal Court of Paraná, Bregolato contested the use of documents sent by foreign authorities to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) in 2015. According to his lawyers, the request for information was not directly related to him. The defense also alleged "lack of control over the evidence" coming from abroad and curtailment of the right to defense, as he did not have access to encrypted files passed on by informants.

Justice Edson Fachin, the case's rapporteur, rejected the arguments and stated that the Federal Public Prosecutor's request was broad and included any related cases. Fachin also highlighted that the international cooperation procedure carried out by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office was conducted within legal norms and approved by the Department of Asset Recovery and International Legal Cooperation (DRCI), linked to the Ministry of Justice.

The decision was made in the judgment of two appeals filed by the defense in habeas corpus cases 209854 and 204830.