The National Council of Justice (CNJ) decided to open, ex officio (without external provocation), a disciplinary complaint against the judge of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) suspected of selling sentences to international drug traffickers.
Judge Cândido Ribeiro and his son, lawyer Ravik Bello Ribeiro, are the target of Habeas Pater and Flight Level 2 operations, launched by the Federal Police last Tuesday (14), with authorization from the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), where federal judges of second instance have privileged jurisdiction.
The opening of the disciplinary complaint, the initial stage of investigation against magistrates at the CNJ, came from the national justice inspector, STJ minister Luís Felipe Salomão.
In the decision, released today (17), he pointed out that the magistrate was suspected of involvement in crimes of active corruption, a criminal organization focused on international drug trafficking, money laundering and crimes against the financial system.
According to information from the CNJ, Salomão wrote that it was necessary to determine “whether the charges made against the judge Cândido Ribeiro have an effective impact on his performance, tainting the provisions of the Federal Constitution, Loman and the regulations drawn up by this Council”.
Salomão asked the STJ to share evidence of the ongoing police investigation within 15 days.
“The TRF1 was also officially authorized to, within 48 hours of the publication of the decision, provide information on requests for measures and administrative processes involving the judge and based on situations related to police operations”, informed the CNJ. .
Understand
the investigations started in 2021, with the first phase of the Flight Level operation, which was set up after an international drug dealer was caught with 175 kilos (kg) of cocaine in Lisbon. The drug had been transported on an executive plane that had departed from Belo Horizonte.
In the second phase of the operation, the PF said there were signs according to which those investigated were part of a “larger criminal organization, focused on international drug trafficking, money laundering and the practice of financial crimes”.
According to the IRS, which collaborates with the case, part of those investigated pretended to be businessmen of the financial sector, having opened companies just to move illicit money. Still according to the organ, the companies were opened in the name of oranges, “people without economic and financial capacity”.
A third operation, Habeas Pater, it was triggered just to find out the existence of an arm of the criminal organization in the Brazilian Judiciary.
Defense
A Brazil Agency contacted the judge’s office, which said it would not comment on the case because it was being kept secret by the court. Consulted through the press office, TRF1 also did not manifest itself. The report continues to try to contact the lawyer Ravik Bello Ribeiro.
*collaborated with reporter Alex Rodrigues
