Former Minister Asks for House Arrest to Implicate Bank, Companies and Lula

05/31/2017 - 10h51

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BELA MEGALE

MARINA DIAS

FROM BRASÍLIA

Former Finance Minister Antonio Palocci is trying to negotiate, in a plea-bargain deal, to be sentenced to a year of house arrest and a testimony focused on bankers and businessmen, as well as former president Lula.

In jail since September 2016, Palocci has dedicated himself, in the last month, to the preparation of his proposal of agreement with the Federal Prosecution Office and the Car Wash (Lava Jato) operation task force in Curitiba.

In order to have his agreement accepted by the prosecutors, Palocci decided to reveal the details of supposedly irregular operations committed by the former president, one of the owners of the bank BTG Pactual, André Esteves, and the former owner of the supermarket chain Pão de Açúcar Abílio Diniz.

To begin the conversations about the plea-bargain deal, the prosecutors demanded that Palocci confirmed information about former President Lula given by former Odebrecht executives, especially regarding the account destined to "Amigo" (Friend, in Portuguese).

Marcos Bezerra/Futura Press/Folhapress Former Finance Minister Antonio Palocci

He indicated positively. According to the former CEO of the multinational, Marcelo Odebrecht, Palocci operated a bank account for bribes destined for Lula's political demands.

Another episode involving the former president that Palocci intends to clarify is the supposed financial benefit obtained by Lula in the creation of the company Sete Brazil in 2010. So far, Palocci met only once with the prosecutors.

After being arrested, Palocci has set a deadline of six months for his defense before beginning to negotiate a plea-bargain. As until April there was no decision of superior courts in favor of his release, he began the negotiations, commanded today by the lawyers Adriano Bretas and Treacy Reinaldt.

Translated by MARINA DELLA VALLE

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