Brazils House of Cards man jailed 15 years

THE FORMER president of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies Eduardo Cunha, who masterminded the ousting  of left-wing President Dilma Rousseff, has been  sentenced to  15 years and 4 months in prison for corruption and money laundering.

The judgment was delivered on Thursday March 30  by Judge Sergio Moro, in charge of the “Lava Jato” investigation that uncovered a gigantic scheme of bribes centered on the State oil company Petrobras with a network of links via Odebrecht to Panama and Switzerland.

“Among the crimes of corruption, money laundering and fraudulent evasion of foreign exchange, there is

material evidence, which is why the combined sentences amount to fifteen years and four months

Of detention,  ” said the judgement

One of the convictions for passive corruption is due to the “undue” receipt of 1.3 million  Swiss francs (about US $ 1.5 million) for having mediated the acquisition of Petrobras’ exploration rights in a Benin oil field in West Africa.

Cunha, a 58-year-old ultraconservative linked to an evangelical church, was arrested in October 2016.

He has been labeled as the Brazilian “Underwood”, in reference to the unscrupulous protagonist of the House of Cards TV series set among the darkest political plots in Washington.

Cunha presided over the Chamber of Deputies between February 2015 and July 2016,

He belonged to PMDB, the party of then-Vice-President Michel Temer, who succeeded Rousseff when she was dismissed by Congress over account manipulation.

Eduardo Cunha was considered one of the most powerful politicians in Brazil before his arrest in October.

Judge Sergio Moro said he should be held in custody even while appeals are under way.

Moro argued that, even though Cunha no longer held political office, there was a risk he could continue engaging in corruption, intimidation and extortion.

Sacred trust
“There is no bigger crime than that of trying to use one’s parliamentary mandate and the sacred trust the people place in it to obtain personal gain,” Judge Moro said.

Cunha, from the centre-right PMDB party, was expelled from the Brazilian Congress in September 2016.

His  work helped establish his PMDB party in power. But he lost all his influence when his own colleagues turned on him due to the various corruption investigations into his affairs.

His conviction may serve as a warning for the current speakers of both Houses – Rodrigo Maia, in the Lower, and Eunicio Oliveira, in the Senate.

Both men have also been mentioned in the Petrobras probe, which is still looking into the alleged participation of hundreds of politicians in corruption.

A house ethics committee found Cunha had lied about having secret bank accounts in Switzerland, something the Swiss authorities confirmed he had.

He has been held at a federal police prison in the city of Curitiba since his arrest in October.