Gilmar suspends investigation into alleged corruption and fraud at FGV

Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court, determined the suspension of a Federal Justice action that investigated an alleged corruption, fraud and money laundering scheme that would involve Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). The minister determined that the investigation should go to the state court in Rio.

Last week, the Federal Police discovered a scheme of corruption and fraud in bids, evasion and money laundering that would be carried out by a criminal organization that exploited the Foundation.

The police carried out 29 search and seizure warrants in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, including at the Foundation’s headquarters in the Botafogo neighborhood, in the Rio de Janeiro capital, in the operation baptized as “Sofisma”. Among the targets would be members of the Simonsen family, who are founders of FGV.

In the decision, the minister recognized the absolute incompetence of the Federal Court to deal with people, institutions and facts with no relation to the Union.

“It is possible to perceive in the case under analysis and in several other actions of Lava Jato in Rio de Janeiro, which are submitted to this Rapporteurship for prevention, an attempt to undue expansion or universalization of the competence of the Federal Justice of Rio de Janeiro”, said.

According to the minister, in the absence of proof of concrete elements that point to the damage to goods, services or interests of federal entities, the crimes imputed to the petitioner must be subject to the competence of the State Justice.

“Therefore, I understand that there was another undue expansive action by the Federal Justice in Rio de Janeiro, since the decision that triggered the so-called Sofisma operation does not contain the specific elements indicative of the competence of the first degree court to process the facts under investigation,” he said.

The minister also criticized the investigation. “Competence cannot be defined based on a thematic and agglutinative criterion of cases randomly assigned by the prosecution and judgment bodies, as if everything were part of the same context, regardless of the peculiarities of each situation,” he said.

The minister also determined that the precautionary measures against those being investigated be suspended and notified the internal affairs offices of the National Council of Justice and the National Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.