Decision regarding Azeredo's maneuver will be made after AP 470
Minister Luís Roberto Barroso will only make his decision on the maneuver by former deputy Eduardo Azeredo (PSDB) to escape the Supreme Federal Court's judgment next week, after the judgment of the appeals for review of Criminal Action 470; the minister does not want overlap between the two cases; Azeredo, who resigned from his mandate this Wednesday (19), is being investigated for embezzlement of public money during his campaign for re-election to the government of Minas Gerais in 1998
André Richter - Reporter for Agência Brasil
Supreme Court Justice Luís Roberto Barroso will decide next week, after the judgment on the appeals for clarification in Criminal Action 470, the mensalão (monthly allowance) case, is finalized. The Justice does not want the two cases to overlap.
In Criminal Action 536, which is being called the Minas Gerais mensalão trial, former federal deputy Eduardo Azeredo (PSDB-MG), who resigned from his mandate yesterday (19), is being investigated for embezzlement of public money during his campaign for re-election to the government of Minas Gerais in 1998. Barroso is the rapporteur of the action.
With his resignation, Azeredo lost his privileged jurisdiction, and the case may be sent to the first instance court, delaying the trial. However, the transfer of charges is not automatic. In the case of the former governor of Minas Gerais, Barroso will assess whether the objective of the resignation was to delay the end of the criminal proceedings. According to the minister, the process ends when the final arguments are presented. However, he did not anticipate any judgment on the matter and also said that he will analyze precedent cases that have been judged in the Supreme Court.
On the 11th of this month, Barroso opened a 15-day period for Azeredo's lawyer to present his final arguments in the case. This phase is the last before the trial by the full Court. After the defense's statement, the case will proceed to the reviewing judge, Minister Celso de Mello, and then to Barroso, the rapporteur for the criminal action.
In his closing arguments, the Attorney General of the Republic, Rodrigo Janot, stated that Azeredo acted as "a maestro" in the alleged scheme and that he diverted public funds for his own benefit to finance his political campaign. The prosecutor also said that the crimes were only possible through the "criminal scheme" orchestrated by advertising executive Marcos Valério, convicted in Criminal Action 470, the mensalão scandal trial.
In the document sent to the Supreme Federal Court (STF), Janot details how the alleged embezzlement scheme worked. According to him, Azeredo, then a candidate for reelection, authorized three state-owned companies – the Minas Gerais Sanitation Company (Copasa), the Minas Gerais Mining Company (Comig), and the Minas Gerais State Bank (Bemge) – to release sponsorship payments totaling R$ 3,5 million (at the time) for three motocross sporting events. From there, the money passed through Marcos Valério's advertising agency, via fraudulent loan accounts at Banco Rural, and reached the candidate's campaign.