TJ-BA: Barbosa sees "very serious indications" of corruption.

Bahia 247

The president of the National Council of Justice (CNJ), Joaquim Barbosa (who also presides over the Supreme Federal Court – STF), expressed astonishment at the problems found in the Court of Justice of Bahia after yesterday's session, in which the majority of CNJ ministers decided to remove the president of the Bahia court, Mário Alberto Hirs, and his predecessor, Telma Brito.

"It is unacceptable that a court president would ignore errors of this gravity regarding court-ordered payments. Furthermore, the hypothesis of ignorance cannot be accepted, because he was warned and remained silent. He was warned about the calculation errors and knew about the errors in the court-ordered payments sector, about external interference, about a retired judge who 'wandered' around the sector. I see that there are very serious indications that deserve to be duly investigated in the disciplinary administrative process," Barbosa said in his vote.

In addition to removing the two judges, the CNJ (National Council of Justice) also ordered the opening of an administrative disciplinary proceeding (PAD) to investigate accusations of potentially irregular payments of court-ordered debts during the current administration and that of Telma Brito. It is estimated that the alleged irregularities may have caused losses of approximately R$ 448 million to public funds.

According to the CNJ (National Council of Justice), some court-ordered payments had fines and interest recalculated within a few hours, following opinions from private experts instead of parameters defined in the court decisions that recognized the debts.

In one of the cases examined, this procedure inflated the amount paid by the State by R$ 170 million. In another, which allegedly benefited a brother of Telma Britto, the overbilling is said to have reached R$ 190 million.

The CNJ's (National Council of Justice) ombudsman found R$ 120 million in fees paid to lawyers who worked on two cases under review.

During the period analyzed by the investigations, the department responsible for court-ordered payments at the Bahia State Court of Justice was under the responsibility of a retired judge, known in the court by the nickname "0800," for working without receiving payment.

In a statement signed by its communications office, the Court of Justice of Bahia continues to deny any wrongdoing and says it will comply with the CNJ's decision and is available for any necessary clarifications. The statement is below.

JUDICIAL POWER
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE STATE OF BAHIA
PRESS OFFICE – ASCOM

Official Notice

The Court of Justice of the State of Bahia (TJBA), surprised by the decision taken, by majority vote, in the plenary session of the National Council of Justice (CNJ), this Tuesday (November 5th), provisionally removing and initiating Disciplinary Administrative Proceedings (PAD) against judges Mário Alberto Hirs and Telma Britto, under the pretext of irregularities in the area of ​​court-ordered payments, reaffirms that it provided all clarifications and information throughout the inspection carried out by the CNJ's Inspectorate, maintaining its certainty that there are no irregularities in the actions decided by the judges now removed and under investigation.

The Court of Justice of the State of Bahia will comply with the CNJ's decision and reiterates its commitment to the truth, the integrity of the services it provides to the people of Bahia, and, above all, its responsibility for a citizen-centered justice system.

SOCIAL COMMUNICATION ADVISORY