STJ sends Pimentel process to electoral justice

Minister Herman Benjamin of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) sent a case to the Minas Gerais Regional Electoral Tribunal (TRE-MG) on Wednesday, March 27, in which Governor Fernando Pimentel (PT) is the defendant.

ARTICLE: Privileged forum: the law is not for everyone

Pimentel was accused of irregularities in the election campaign to the Minas government in 2014. According to the indictment, he reportedly used a card without the appropriate statement of values. There are also suspicions of receiving "undue advantages" – the crimes allegedly took place before Pimentel took power from Minas Gerais.

Herman's decision was made on the basis of new agreement signed by STJwhich limited the scope of the privileged forum to the governors and advisers of the court of auditors, as the Federal Supreme Court (STF) did in early May for MPs and Senators.

As a result, only governors and councilors whose alleged crimes were committed during the term and on the job should be tried by the Superior Court of Justice. The STJ is currently processing 64 cases involving governors, including investigations, prosecutions and investigations, according to the court 's attorney.

+++ Delator says that Fernando Pimentel received $ 20 million from Caoa

Wanted by the report, lawyer Eugenio Pacelli, who defends the governor of Minas Gerais, said that Herman's decision meets Pimentel's defense request, "bowing to the councils of the Supreme on the restriction of the forum ".

Acronym In the first phase of Operation Acronym, which was launched in May 2015, the federal police found five tax invoices regarding the production of 34 million sacred orders of the Pimentel campaign to the state government the previous year, which cost R $ 362,000.

According to the investigation of the time, a cross-check of the data revealed that the documents "are not registered in the TSE, whether in the responsibility of the candidate, the party leadership or the single financial committee ".

+++ STJ renders Pimentel accused of bribery and money laundering

The goal, according to a PF intelligence report, "would be to reduce Gráfica Brasil's expenses with the Pimentel campaign, as well as allow the candidate's expenses to not reach the limit set at the start of the campaign."

The defense of Pimentel denies the irregularities in the campaign to the government of Minas.