They sentence 12 years and 11 months to Lula for another cause of corruption

RIO DE JANEIRO.- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio

Lula da Silva

, who has already served a second-term sentence of 12 years and a month's imprisonment in the case of a service acquired for bribes as part of the Lava operation Jato, was sentenced this afternoon to 12 years and 11 months imprisonment for corruption Assets, liabilities and money laundering in another cause related to a reformed farm through bribes from large companies that benefited from his government (2003-2010).

According to Judge Gabriela Hardt of Curitiba, the leader of the Workers' Party (PT) has received more than one million reais ($ 270,000) from the construction companies of OAS and Odebrecht and Petroleum engineering company Schahin to carry out reforms in the farm Santa Bárbara, in the state of Atibaia, in São Paulo, does not appear in the name of Lula but belongs to the Businessman Fernando Bittar, son of a friend of former trade unionist Jacó Bittar, former president. In return, according to the judge, these companies obtained lucrative contracts with Petrobras.

"The convicted has benefited from an undue advantage because of his position as President of the Republic, which requires exemplary behavior," said Hardt, who inherited the Lava Jato procedure in Curitiba after Judge Sergio's resignation Moro. accept to be appointed Minister of Justice and Public Security of the current President

Jair Bolsonaro

.

Lula, imprisoned since April 7 in the Superintendency of the Federal Police Curitiba, is also being prosecuted in seven other cases related to Lava Jato, for corruption, money laundering, trafficking in influence, conspiracy and attempt hindering justice. The first sentence against Lula, pronounced by Judge Moro, found him guilty of having received from the OAS a triplex service in Guarujá in the locality of São Paulo, as a bribe in kind, in exchange for other contracts with Petrobras. The first sentence, from July 2017, was nine years and six months of imprisonment, but after the appeal, in January of last year, the Federal Regional Court on April 4. The region, in Porto Alegre, increased it to 12 years and a month of imprisonment. A third appeal is still pending.

The lawyers of the former president have already announced that they would appeal Hardt's decision. During the trial, they pointed out that, although Lula and his deceased wife, Marisa Leticia, usually used the farm, it was not theirs, they were never consulted about the reforms to the place and that there is no evidence that the exmandatario requested the work. in exchange for business with the government or Petrobras.

During raids on the property, towels bearing the initials of Lula and his wife, as well as paddle boats bearing the names of the grandchildren of the former president, were found. At one of the hearings, Fernando Bittar acknowledged that he was not paying "a real" for the work done on the farm, he did not know whether the money had been disbursed by Lula or what was his true origin. However, the site manager, the former escort of Lula Rogério Pimentel, claimed that the former president had placed him in the order of spare parts and confirmed the payments made by the companies suspicious.

For Hardt, "it is a fact that the family of the former president was an badiduous badistant of the property and used it as his own owner." He pointed out that it was possible to conclude "beyond reasonable doubt" that the reform funds were "from previous illicit acts" to benefit companies and that Lula was aware of the fact that 39, exchange of favors.

"He was aware that there were systematic payments of bribes to the party and that some of these values ​​were being used to his personal advantage," he wrote.

In addition to Lula, twelve other defendants in this case were convicted, among them businessmen Marcelo and Emilio Odebrecht; Leo Pinheiro (OAS) and José Carlos Bumlai (Schahin Group).