Federal Court accepts case against Lula, his wife and six other accused

Federal Judge Sérgio Moro accepted this Tuesday (Sep. 20) corruption charges filed by the Operation Car Wash task force against former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, his wife, Marisa Letícia da Silva, and six other people. With the decision, the judge formally puts them on trial.

In the complaint, filed last week, federal prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, head of the task force, dubbed Lula “the mastermind behind a corruption scheme identified in Operation Car Wash.” 

According to prosecutors, Lula received a total of $1.112 million in bribes from companies involved in Petrobras corruption scandal through undue benefits, like the renovation work of a triplex in Guarujá, on the coast of São Paulo, and the payment of expenses for a storage facility to keep the objects Lula received when he was the president. The benefits were allegedly paid by the OAS contractor.

After the charges were filed, Lula's lawyers said the petition is part of a "deplorable spectacle of verbosity presented by the Car Wash task force."

Lula Institute President Paulo Okamotto, former OAS president Léo Pinheiro, and five other people linked to the contractor were also reported by the Federal Prosecution Service (MPF).

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta