The court denies Cabral's request to dismiss one of the lawsuits against him.

Brazil Agency - The First Panel of the Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region (TRF2), by a vote of two to one, denied the request from the defense of the former governor of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral, to dismiss one of the cases against him following investigations by the Lava Jato Task Force in Rio.

With the request of habeas corpus, The defense intended for two criminal cases to proceed together: one related to Operation Calicute, for passive corruption, money laundering, and criminal organization, and the other related to the works of the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) for the Favelas and the renovation of the Maracanã stadium, for bid rigging and cartel formation.

The First Panel's decision took into account the understanding of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) that the former governor's two actions occurred at different times and with different intentions, and therefore should not be associated.

According to regional prosecutor Silvana Batini, who represented the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in the trial of habeas corpusThe decision showed that the judges understood the agency's intention in deciding to divide the criminal proceedings. "It was the first time the Court had to address the issue raised by the defense. The judges rejected the claim that the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office had a strategy of making several accusations for crimes that should be investigated and prosecuted together," she said. "It became clear that separate crimes should be the subject of different proceedings," the prosecutor said.