Brazil’s biggest wildlife trafficker to be charged
Arrested for the 15th time, Valdivino Honório de Jesus, Brazil’s biggest wildlife trafficker, will be charged with money laundering, announced federal prosecutors in Patos, in the northeastern state of Paraíba state.
Prosecutors believe he may have amassed some $380 thousand in illegal trade since 1996.
In addition to the money laundering charges, prosecutors argue he should be stripped of his post at the Agricultural Research Company of Paraíba (Emepa). Investigators are also petitioning for his assets to be confiscated and turned into revenue for the federal penitentiary fund.
On all other 14 occasions when he was taken to jail for wildlife trafficking—starting in 1996—Honório de Jesus was released after signing a document acknowledging he had committed crimes of little offensive potential.
Honório de Jesus failed to comply with court rulings issued in September 2017, like standing before the authorities once a month and paying a $11.6 thousand fine. The value of all fines combined totals over $2.6 million.
