TRF sentences Dirceu to 30 years and acquits Vaccari.

From TRF-4 - The Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region (TRF4) increased, in a trial concluded this morning (September 26th), the sentence of former minister José Dirceu, defendant in the criminal appeal of the Engevix group, by 10 years. The convictions of former Petrobras director Renato Duque and former Engevix vice-president Gerson de Mello Almada were also upheld. Former treasurer of the Workers' Party, João Vaccari Neto, was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. The trial began on September 13th and was adjourned at the request of Federal Judge Victor Luiz dos Santos Laus. This is the 18th criminal appeal from Operation Lava Jato judged by the court.

The trial also included three defendants linked to José Dirceu: the former partners of JD Consultoria, Luiz Eduardo de Oliveira e Silva, Dirceu's brother, and Júlio Cesar Santos, and the former advisor Roberto Marques, whose sentences were increased. Two defendants who were partners in Engevix, executives José Antunes Sobrinho and Cristiano Kok, had their acquittals upheld, and lobbyist Fernando Antônio Guimarães Hourneaux de Moura had his sentence reduced.

Engevix was one of the construction companies that allegedly formed a cartel to fix prices in advance, rigging Petrobras' bidding processes starting in 2005. To do this, the company allegedly paid bribes to Petrobras agents in contracts related to the Cacimbas Gas Treatment Unit (UTGC), the Presidente Bernardes Refinery (RPBC), the Presidente Getúlio Vargas Refinery (Repar), and the Landupho Alves Refinery (RLAM). According to the sentence, handed down in May of last year, part of the bribes paid was redirected to the political group led by José Dirceu.

According to the rapporteur of the case, Federal Judge João Pedro Gebran Neto, the criminal schemes uncovered in Operation Lava Jato were blatant and violated guiding principles of public administration such as legality, morality, and efficiency. Gebran was the one who stipulated the highest sentences for the defendants, which were reduced based on the votes of the other two judges who are members of the 8th Panel, Leandro Paulsen, who is the reviewer, and Victor Luiz dos Santos Laus.

"Although in these cases there is hardly any proof of undue advantages, I adopt the theory of examining the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt," declared Gebran, adding that the severe sentences are not a result of the rigor of the judges, but of the large number of crimes committed by the defendants.

Paulsen began reading his opinion by stating that the proper functioning of the administration must be guided by legality and impartiality, with private interests not being placed above public interests. "It is expected of those acting on behalf of the administration that they do so based on these principles, avoiding the deterioration and perversion of public affairs," the judge observed.

Paulsen, who is also the president of the 8th Panel, considered that there was sufficient testimonial and documentary evidence that the crimes occurred, upholding the convictions in the sentence and ordering an increase in the penalties, but to an extent between the penalties set by the trial judge and the reporting judge.

The reviewing judge acquitted Vaccari due to a lack of evidence of his involvement, specifically in the facts judged in the case under review, emphasizing that the information provided by the collaborators in this case lacks corroborating evidence and that the testimonies do not even relate to the facts narrated in the indictment. Paulsen highlighted that Vaccari's acquittal does not affect his pre-trial detention, as it is determined in another of the nine criminal cases pending against him. Regarding Cristiano Kok, the judge upheld the acquittal, finding no evidence of intent.

Judge Victor Luiz dos Santos Laus explained that he requested a review due to the defense's allegation that there had been procedural disloyalty or an attack on the process due to the short time frame for accessing some telematic evidence made available during the closing arguments, without sufficient time for analysis.

Laus concluded that the complaint was properly prepared and that the right to a fair hearing had been offered since 2015, with the documents that actually formed the basis of the Public Prosecutor's accusation being available, and that there was no prejudice to the defense. "The telematic report was available on the virtual platform for the defense, and the claim that lifting the confidentiality of the case files in the final arguments would have brought new evidence is unsustainable," the judge assessed.

The defendants had their sentences increased because the panel applied the principle of concurrent offenses to the corruption crimes instead of continuous offenses. In concurrent offenses, crimes of the same nature cease to be considered as a single crime and are added together.

See below for details of the convictions:

José Dirceu de Oliveira e Silva: passive corruption, belonging to a criminal organization, and money laundering. The sentence was increased from 20 years and 10 months to 30 years, 9 months, and 10 days.
João Vaccari Neto: accused of passive corruption. The sentence was 9 years, but the former treasurer was acquitted, by majority vote, by the 8th Panel, with Gebran dissenting due to insufficient evidence;

Renato de Souza Duque: passive corruption. The sentence was increased from 10 years to 21 years and 4 months;
Gerson de Mello Almada: active corruption and money laundering. The sentence was increased from 15 years and 6 months to 29 years and 8 months of imprisonment.
Fernando Antônio Guimarães Hourneaux de Moura: passive corruption and money laundering. The sentence was reduced from 16 years and 2 months to 12 years and 6 months of imprisonment.
Julio Cesar dos Santos: money laundering. The sentence was increased from 8 years to 10 years, 8 months and 24 days of imprisonment;
Roberto Marques: involvement in a criminal organization. The sentence was increased from 3 years and 6 months to 4 years and 1 month.
Luiz Eduardo de Oliveira e Silva: money laundering. The sentence was increased from 8 years and 9 months to 10 years, 6 months and 23 days of imprisonment;
Cristiano Kok: acquitted in the first instance, had his acquittal confirmed;
José Antunes Sobrinho: the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office appealed, requesting a conviction after an acquittal in the first instance. The panel upheld the acquittal.

Execution of Sentence

The execution of the sentence may be initiated by the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba as soon as the deadlines for appeals for clarification (2 days) and appeals for reconsideration (applicable in cases of non-unanimous judgments, with a 10-day deadline) have passed. If appeals are filed by the defense, execution will only take place after the court has ruled on these appeals.