Senator Delcídio Amaral in Brasilia (Geraldo Magela / Agência Senado / SEE)
The Federal Police arrested on the morning of Wednesday the Delcídio Senator Amaral (PT-MS), government leader in the Senate. The action was authorized by the Minister Teori Zavascki, the Supreme Federal Court (STF), on suspicion that the senator was obstructing the investigation into the petrolão scandal. Also they arrested the banker André Esteves, BTG Pactual, Diogo Ferreira, head of PT's office and the attorney Edson Siqueira Ribeiro Filho, defending the former director Nestor Cervero Petrobras. The PF still complies search warrants in Congress as a development of investigations of Lava jet. The police operate in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and Mato Grosso do Sul
This is the first time that a senator is arrested while in office. Delcídio is accused of trying to coerce the former director of Petrobras' International Area, Nestor Cervero, appointed by him in oil, not to give details about the corruption scheme at Petrobras. Senator even offered means for the former leader fled the country. Cerveró to negotiate a winning snitching agreement, but was unsuccessful. As revealed Vera Magalhaes columnist on Radar Online, the senator was spotted on recordings discussing possible escape routes for the former head of state.
In investigations, the name of Delcídio Amaral was quoted by the whistleblower Fernando Baiano, who told the task force Lava Jet government leader would have received up to 1.5 million dollars in bribes in negotiating the Pasadena refinery in Texas. The dirty money would have been used in Delcídio campaign the government of Mato Grosso do Sul, in 2006.
Quotes against the government leader had already been made by former Petrobras director Paulo Roberto Costa, but the Attorney General Rodrigo Janot Republic has not seen sufficient evidence to request the opening of investigation against the parliamentarian. In a statement, Costa also indicates that the former head of the International Area of the oil, Nestor Cervero, linked to the PMDB authorities and the party operator in petrolão scandal, Fernando Baiano, may have pocketed 30 million dollars in bribes in the purchase of Pasadena. The Delcídio himself was director of Gas and Energy of Petrobras.
The prison - Delcídio Amaral arrived shortly before 8:30 am the Superintendent of the Federal Police in Brasilia, where will the first clarification of the case. The Supreme, the minister Teori Zavascki called an extra session of the 2nd Panel of the Supreme Court to discuss the arrests. There is an arrest warrant also against a lawyer. This action is not about a new phase of Operation Lava Jet centered in Curitiba, in the 1st instance of the judiciary.
The senator was arrested at the hotel Golden Tulip, where he lives in Brasilia, the same place where the Federal Police yesterday arrested the businessman José Carlos Bumlai, friend of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at the 21st stage of Lava jet.
André Esteves - The name of the banker André Esteves appeared on petrolão investigations from a money changer testimony of Alberto Youssef, one of the main informers of the scandal. Youssef told authorities that received the information that the purchase network of gas stations Brazil derivatives (DVBR) have been consolidated after payment of bribes to operators of BR Distribuidora, a Petrobras subsidiary. The transaction would have relied on direct performance of Pedro Paulo Leoni Ramos, the PP, a former government minister Fernando Collor.
Possible references to Esteves had also appeared in a Marcelo Odebrecht contractor ticket seized the incarceration of the Federal Police in Curitiba. In a text excerpt, Odebrecht tells his defenders: "Destroy email probes". For researchers, the ticket could represent an order for the destruction of evidence. This order would be cause for Odebrecht had your extended prison - because it would be an attempt to obstruct the investigation. For lawyers of the entrepreneur, the use of destroying was metaphorical: Odebrecht only directed to deconstruct the charge of having overpriced contracts with Petrobras.
On the same ticket to lawyers, Marcelo Odebrecht notes: "story of André Esteves initiative Remember that time seven Petrobras off balance, so help Seven was seen as helping Petrobras.". Seven quoted by the contractor is the Seven Brazil, a company created to build rigs for oil exploration of the pre-salt and implicated in investigations of Lava jet.
