Brazil’s Federal Police call for Amazon illegal timber inquiries to be included in STF investigation

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Federal Police have petitioned for all local investigations into the seizure of illegal timber in the Amazon be concentrated at the Federal Supreme Court (STF), to be conducted jointly with the investigation involving Environment Minister Ricardo Salles.

Late Tuesday, June 15, STF Justice Carmen Lúcia partially granted the petition and ordered a stay of all judicial proceedings in the states of Pará and Amazonas, until the question of jurisdiction is resolved.

The Federal Police said that inquiries of Operation Handroanthus, underway in Federal Courts in the states of Pará and Amazonas, should be forwarded to the STF for their connection to the criminal investigation into Salles on suspicions that he worked to obstruct an investigation that led to the record seizure of illegal timber in the Amazon region.

In the petition to STF Justice Cármen Lúcia, detective Thiago Leão Bastos claimed that there is “serious risk of vacating” the STF’s jurisdiction because the lower courts would be “sharing the instruments and proceeds of the crime.” He argued that it is essential to recognize the connection between the two investigations.

“This is because both investigations share evidence, because political agents strive to ensure the impunity of those under investigation by the Federal Police, using their high-ranking government positions to this end,” he said.

Operation Handroanthus, according to the detective, is responsible for the largest seizure of illegal timber in the history of Brazil, exceeding the mark of 226,000 m3 of wood, with an estimated value of over R$129 (US$25.5) million.

In addition to the illegal timber investigation of Salles, the Environment Minister is the target of another investigation at the STF.

Last month, Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the search and seizure of documents and electronic materials at addresses linked to Salles and decreed the lifting of bank and tax secrecy from January 2018 until May this year.

Despite this judicial offensive against the Minister and the criticism of the government’s environmental policy, President Jair Bolsonaro has signaled that he values Salles.

After the search and seizure, Bolsonaro said that he is an “exceptional” Minister, but he is being challenged by what he considers to be “well-equipped sectors” of the Prosecutor’s Office.

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