Prosecutors from the Public Ministry of Pernambuco (MPPE) appealed to the Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE) against judge Andréa Calado da Cruz, from the 12th Criminal Court of Recife, alleging “abuses” and an “apparent lack of impartiality” in his conduct of Operation Integration.
The Civil Police operation investigates alleged money laundering crimes involving figures such as singer Gusttavo Lima, influencer Deolane Bezerra and online betting companies.
The information was confirmed during a press conference held this Monday (9), at the Elena Caúla Reis Public Prosecutor’s Office Building, in the central area of Recife.
In the appeal, the prosecutors state that the judge’s attitude is “typical of someone who appears passionate about the investigation”.
Questioned during the press conference, the coordinator of the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco), Roberto Brayner, detailed the reasons for the appeal and explained the differences between the bodies in the investigation.
“We respect the judiciary, we respect the judge. I think the judiciary has an important role at this time, and all we don’t want at this moment is to fuel an atmosphere of rivalry, of dispute”, said Brayner.
However, he highlighted the central point of the disagreement: “the resource, in fact, despite having all this, I will not deny it, has an objective focus. His Excellency understood that we had three alternatives: either report it, or ask for new measures or archive it. And this is the point on which we disagree with His Excellency. We didn’t have the three alternatives she’s saying.”
Prosecutors maintain that the investigation needs to advance before any charges are filed. According to Brayner, the objective is to analyze the financial movements of those being investigated, especially the breach of banking secrecy, which has not yet been completed.
“We had an alternative and we had already opted for it. From the beginning, we had stated and reaffirmed that we wanted to know the financial movements of those being investigated. The bank failure does not end with the request. It ends with the analysis of the information that will enable me to know whether or not there is evidence of money laundering resulting from gambling. So, that is the objective of the appeal”, explained the prosecutor.
The Civil Police of Pernambuco informs that “the measures were requested on September 20th and were all completed and forwarded to the Public Ministry of Pernambuco in October”. “Subsequently, the MPPE requested an analysis of the breaches of bank secrecy, which are already being carried out for subsequent referral to the MPPE.”
Complaint requires “concrete information”
During the press conference, the coordinator of the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco), Roberto Brayner, highlighted that Operation Integration is still ongoing and that he asked the Pernambuco Civil Police for further action.
Brayner highlighted that the Public Ministry cannot formalize a complaint without concrete elements.
He mentioned that data from the Financial Activities Control Council (COAF) indicated atypical operations, but did not constitute, in itself, sufficient proof.
“COAF reports an atypical operation, a suspicious operation. But there you don’t have proof of the objective and subjective elements that must be reported in the complaint”, he detailed.
The prosecutor also stressed the need to give those under investigation the opportunity to present their versions: “when I point out the movement that demonstrates the mixing of the animal game with bet, we also need to give an opportunity to those who are being accused of explain. A serious, mature investigation that will provide adequate criminal action must follow this path.”
Wanted by CNN the Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE) stated, in a note, that its constitutional commitment is to impartiality, but did not comment on the MPPE’s appeal.
THE CNN tries to contact judge Andréa Calado da Cruz to comment on the case.
This content was originally published in Public Ministry points out “abuses” in investigation targeting Gusttavo Lima and Deolane on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
