Brazilian Federal Judge Vallisney de Souza Oliveira acquitted former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the case of an alleged criminal organization and money laundering in businesses of the Odebrecht construction company in Angola.
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The judge indicated that there was insufficient evidence to indict Lula and his nephew Taiguara Rodrigues dos Santos. The ruling was signed Tuesday.
He said that there is proof that the former president "did not perform or followed the work, and the description of the crime and its circumstances are not clear enough."
Regarding the crime of money laundering, the magistrate said there were no incriminating signatures and contracts. "It is evident the ineptitude of the complaint, considering both the fact that the Defender is far from these facts, because he had no participation in signatures and contracts, and can not be held responsible for the contractual agreement itself," he writes.
Despite the ruling, Lula is still in prison for other cases as Vallisney stated that there is "above-the-minimum probative support for the prosecution" of alleged money laundering, passive corruption, and influence peddling crimes.
On June 9, Glenn Greenwald’s The Intercept Brazil published an extensive and hard-hitting expose on the alleged political motivations behind Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato) task force against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the Worker’s Party (PT), as well as the unethical involvement of current Minister of Justice Sergio Moro.
The documents were released in a three-part series by The Intercept showing leaked documents and Telegram messages between prosecutors and Moro, providing proof to what lengths the prosecutors went to prevent Lula and his Workers’ Party from returning to power.