Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced former president Fernando Collor de Mello to eight years and ten months in prison for corruption as a result of an investigation derived from the Lava Jato case. Collor, 73, was found guilty of receiving 20 million reais (equivalent to US$4 million) between 2010 and 2014, when he was a senator, in exchange for favoring irregular contracts between a construction company and a former Petrobras subsidiary.
With a vote of 8 in favor and 2 against, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) found Collor guilty last week for the crimes of corruption and money laundering, and this Wednesday the sentence was handed down. The president of the STF, Rosa Weber, announced that the total sentence would be eight years and ten months in prison. The judge rapporteur of the case, Edson Fachin, had suggested a sentence of up to 33 years in prison, but the Court reduced the sentence.
The facts proven in the process are considered serious and reflect the improper abuse of public functions for personal and patrimonial benefit, as expressed by Fachin during the trial. The former president used his political and partisan influence to make appointments to the board of directors of BR Distribuidora (Petrobras’ subsidiary) and to facilitate the execution of contracts, according to the court.
The investigation was framed within the Lava Jato case, which has affected a large part of the Brazilian political class since 2014. The illicitly obtained money was laundered through more than 40 deposits in accounts in Collor’s name and in 65 accounts belonging to companies owned by him. His defense denies the accusations.
Fernando Collor de Mello was the first president elected by universal suffrage after the military regime in Brazil. However, he resigned from the presidency in 1992 amid allegations of embezzlement and corruption. Although he initially generated high expectations with his reformist discourse and youthful image, his popularity declined rapidly, and he resigned after only two years in office due to allegations of corruption.
Collor managed to return to politics in 2006, being elected senator for Alagoas, a poor state in northeastern Brazil. He held that position until last year. He is currently a member of the center-right Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro (PTB). As part of the fight against corruption in Brazil, two other former presidents, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Michel Temer, were also taken to prison. Lula was detained for 18 months but was released by order of the Supreme Court, while Temer was preventively arrested in 2019 and released four days later.