Appio reduces secrecy surrounding investigation into alleged undercover Federal Police agent working for Lava Jato.

Conjur - Judge Eduardo Appio, head of the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, reduced the secrecy of a Federal Police investigation into whether accountant Meire Bomfim da Silva Poza was acting as an "undercover agent" working for investigators of Operation Lava Jato in the capital of Paraná.

Poza, former accountant for money launderer Alberto Youssef, one of the main informants in the "Lava Jato" corruption scandal, allegedly acted as an "infiltrator" for the Federal Police, according to a report published by CartaCapital magazine in July 2018.

According to the publication, Poza maintained direct contact with Federal Police agents in São Paulo. The objective was to plan search and seizure operations for the operation, which began in March 2014.

Appio's decision was made last Thursday (April 15). In it, the federal judge states that the investigation was closed more than a year ago and that, therefore, there is no reason to maintain secrecy.

"Given these considerations, I am reducing the level of secrecy imposed on this inquiry, insofar as it has already been duly archived (...), and no further investigative measures are foreseen at this time," said the judge, currently responsible for the "Lava Jato" cases.

"The Judiciary cannot become a loyal guardian of the Republic's secrets, especially when they involve potential and allegedly serious illegalities (according to the order that initiated the Federal Police investigation)," the judge added.

The investigation to which Appio refers was opened by the Federal Police to investigate the relationship between the accountant and the Federal Police delegate Marcio Anselmo. In a 2018 report, CartaCapital stated that Poza and the delegate chose who would be targeted in the operation and to which newspaper or magazine the leaks of details from "Lava Jato" would be sent.

The police investigation records show, among other things, that Meire Poza went to the Federal Police's Financial Crimes Repression Unit in São Paulo to show documents relating to "strange" transactions by one of the companies belonging to the money launderer Youssef.

The investigation also describes how the São Paulo police chief informed the accountant that he would pass her phone number on to the person in charge of "Lava Jato"; and that, on April 25, 2014, she was contacted by Chief Anselmo and that the two began to have frequent contact and collaborate on the operation.

The investigation was closed following a statement from the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office on March 2, 2017, in a document signed by the regional prosecutor of the Republic, Januário Paludo. In the document, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office alleges "atypicality of the reported facts" and states that "the most that could have occurred is overconfidence or naiveté on the part of the police officers in their dealings with Meire Poza."

"From the evidence gathered in this police investigation, I find that Meire Poza was not used as an 'undercover agent'. The conversations held between Meire and the police officers fall within the investigative measures employed to ensure the successful outcome of any search and seizure, and were restricted to the object of the investigation," the document states.

One of the most influential members of "Lava Jato," Paludo was involved in the operation from its inception. The group "Filhos de Januário," which became famous after the release of conversations between members of the task force and former judge Sergio Moro, in the episode known as "Vaza Jato," makes reference to Paludo.