Lula ordered to pay $7.4 million in triplex apartment case
Judge Caroline Lebbos, of the 12th Federal Court of Curitiba, ordered former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to pay a fine totaling $7.4 million to compensate for damage and procedural costs stemming from the case involving the triplex apartment complex in coastal Guarujá, São Paulo.
Lula was taken to jail after he was found guilty of having received the apartment complex as bribe from construction company OAS in exchange for being favored in contracts with state-controlled oi giant Petrobras.
Lebbos gave Lula 15 days to propose the splitting of the payment in installments, if he so desires. Most of the amount is due to compensation for damage ($7.1 million), followed by a $310.8 thousand fine, and procedural costs ($23.75).
Gleisi Hoffmann
In the same ruling, the judge banned Senator and Workers’ Party (PT) President Gleisi Hoffmann from serving as Lula’s counsel. She was listed by Lula’s defense as his representative in court, but federal prosecutors viewed it as an attempt to break prison rules and requested that she be removed from the position.
The judge argued that, under the law, a member of the country’s legislative branch could not be brought into the case as defense, as Petrobras is a government-controlled firm.
As for Lula’s request to have his right to vote guaranteed in the upcoming elections, Lebbos said she has submitted the petition to electoral authorities.
