Former Justice Minister may be investigated for money laundering.

247 Currently in the news for defending illegal gambling operator Carlos Cachoeira, former Minister of Justice and lawyer Márcio Thomaz Bastos may be investigated for money laundering or non-international receiving of proceeds from criminal activities. The request was made by Regional Prosecutor Manoel Pastana, from Rio Grande do Sul. Read below the full report published by the website. Congress in Focus, who had access to the case.

By Eduardo Militão - Criminal lawyer Márcio Thomaz Bastos was once the lawyer for former president Lula, president of the Brazilian Bar Association (1987) and Minister of Justice between 2003 and 2007. Today he defends the illegal gambling operator Carlos Augusto Ramos, the central figure in the Cachoeira CPI. If it depends on a representation made by the Regional Prosecutor of the Republic in Rio Grande do Sul, Manoel Pastana, Bastos will now be investigated for allegedly having committed the crime of money laundering or unintentional receipt of resources from criminal activities. Pastana will file the action against Thomaz Bastos today (29). Congresso em Foco had exclusive access to the action filed by Pastana.

According to Pastana, the fact that Thomaz Bastos received R$ 15 million in fees to defend Cachoeira is evidence of a crime. In his representation to the Public Prosecutor's Office in Goiás, Pastana argues that the illegal gambling operator does not have resources of legal origin to cover such an expense. Therefore, he wants to know how he is paying for the services of the former Minister of Justice. To this end, the prosecutor requests the lifting of bank and tax secrecy for Thomaz Bastos and information from the Council for Financial Activities Control (COAF) regarding any illegal money movements from abroad.

In Pastana's opinion, there are clear "indications" that Bastos committed or is about to commit a crime. And he could even be arrested. "Arrest in flagrante is possible, if the lawyer is caught receiving the resources originating from illicit conduct carried out by Cachoeira," Pastana argued in the document, which should be filed this Tuesday (29) at the Federal Public Ministry.

Thomaz Bastos was informed of the complaint early last night. He told Congresso em Foco that he could provide clarifications at 21 pm, but at the agreed time, he no longer answered the phone or responded to the text messages sent.

Assets frozen

Cachoeira has his assets frozen. Therefore, he cannot pay R$ 15 million to Thomaz Bastos to defend him. "The restrictive measure seems not to have been sufficient, because, if it were, he would not be able to afford the legal contract," Pastana said in the representation. According to the Radar column in Veja magazine, published on Sunday (27), Bastos said that it is his friends who pay the expenses of clients in situations like these. The same magazine reported that the R$ 15 million was divided into three installments, the first of which has already been paid.

In his representation to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in Goiás, Pastana stated that the money laundering law prevents someone from acquiring or receiving assets derived from crimes against public administration or committed by a criminal organization – as in the case of Cachoeira. If there is no evidence of money laundering, the prosecutor understands that Article 180 of the Penal Code provides for the unintentional receipt of "something that one knows to be the product of a crime." The same article of the law states that anyone who receives assets that, "due to the condition of the person offering them," allow one to presume they were obtained through crime.

This is the case, according to Pastana. "All of Brazilian society knows that Cachoeira is not in a position to pay high fees with legitimate income; therefore, it is to be presumed that the funds were obtained through criminal means," he argued.

murderess

Although he did not base his request on moral issues, the prosecutor said that Bastos acted unethically. He stated that it was "unreasonable" that Thomaz Bastos, who, as Minister of Justice, had the mission of "defending the Brazilian State from the deleterious actions of offenders," should now defend one of those offenders. "This mortally wounds ethics and morality."

Pastana stated in his complaint that, if nothing is done, Carlinhos Cachoeira will profit from the results of the crimes he committed. "Allowing Dr. Márcio Thomaz Bastos to benefit from such resources would be the same as (...) considering it lawful for a lawyer to receive fees from a murderer, who pays for his defense with the money received to kill the victim," he criticized.

The prosecutor told Congresso em Foco that he is not against criminals in general having paid lawyers, which would be an anti-democratic limitation on their defense. However, Pastana stated that they must pay fees according to their legitimate resources, or use the services of the Public Defender's Office.