Senator and banker would pay $13,000 a month for ex-Petrobras director's silence

Prosecutor-General's Office (PGR) used testimonies of the plea bargain from former Petrobras International Director Nestor Cerveró and his son, Bernardo Cerveró, to order the arrest of Senator Delcídio do Amaral, BTG Pactual bank owner André Esteves, Cerveró's former attorney Edson Ribeiro, and Diogo Ferreira, head of the senator's office. The prisons had been authorized by Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki and executed by the federal police this Tuesday (Nov. 25).

Delcício do Amaral and André Esteves

In the document submitted from the Prosecutor-General's Office (PGR) to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), ordering the arrest of those investigated, the PGR states that Senator Amaral tried to convince Nestor Cerveró not to make the plea bargain with the Public Prosecution Office (MPF), or that, if closing the deal, he would avoid pressing charges against the senator and André Esteves.

In a passage of the process, the PGR reports that "Senator Delcídio Amaral offered a financial aid to Bernardo Cerveró, mounting to a minimum of R$ 50,000.00 (equivalent to $13,000) per month, for Nestor Cerveró's family. Moreover he promised to politically intercede with the judiciary branch to help him achieve freedom, so that he would not strike the plea bargain with the Public Prosecution Office," declares the PGR.

The document also reports that bank owner André Esteves would cover the financial aid's costs and that part of the amount would be declared as payment for legal fees "to be agreed in the contract to provide legal services signed between André Esteves and attorney Edson Ribeiro or his legal entity."

Conversation recordings

According to the PGR, André Esteves had a copy of the plea bargain's draft, signed by Nestor Cerveró, which confirms that "there is a source of leak in Operation Car Wash equipping people in a position of power with information" on the investigations.

Probes also mention meetings attended by Cerveró's son, Bernardo Cervero, Senator Delcídio do Amaral, Diogo Ferreira, head of the senator's office, and Cerveró's attorney Edson Ribeiro in a hotel in Brasília. Recordings of the meetings, made by Cerveró's son, were also used by the PGR to explain the arrest.

In a recording excerpt, the senator said he had been talking to Supreme ministers. "Now see, Edson and Bernardo, I think we have to open fire on STF now, I spoke with Teori [Zavascki], I spoke with Toffoli [Dias], I asked Toffoli to speak with Gilmar [Mendes], Michel [Temer] also spoke with Gilmar, because Michel is very concerned with Zelada [Jorge Zelada, former Petrobras International Director], and I'll also speak with Gilmar. "

During another excerpt, the senator mentioned Cerveró's alleged escape plan. According to the PGR, the lawmaker considered “Paraguay the best route and, about the need for running away by air taxi, the model ought to be a Falcon 50, because it could reach Spain [Cerveró has Spanish nationality] not needing to refuel."

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta