This Monday (27), lawyer Rodrigo Tacla Duran testified to judge Eduardo Fernando Appio from the 13ª Vara Federal (one of the Federal Judiciary sections in Paraná’s capital city, Curitiba). Appio is the newly appointed head of Operation Car Wash. Duran, accused of corruption by the operation, claims to have been blackmailed by lawyers linked to former judge Sérgio Moro, who obtained bribes in exchange for judicial decisions in his favor.
He handed in photos and recordings reinforcing his accusations against Moro and former prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol. These documents compromise their decisions within the scope of the operation.
Appio decided to send Duran's case and the evidence he says he has to the Supreme Court since Moro is currently a senator and Dallagnol is a federal deputy and, therefore, they have privileged jurisdiction.
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The judge also ordered Duran to be included in the federal witness program “due to the great political and economic power of those involved [in the case]."
Duran’s testimony started a new phase of the historical Car Wash operation: investigating the supposed corruption cases among the of the operation, according to experts heard by Brasil de Fato.
Understanding the case
Tacla Duran, whose arrest was ordered by former judge and now senator Sergio Moro (Union Brazil Party, Paraná state) at the request of former prosecutor and now federal deputy Deltan Dallagnol (Podemos Party, Paraná state), has already declared that he was blackmailed by lawyers who asked for bribes in exchange for Moro's court decisions in his favor.
In an interview with the Brazilian news website UOL, published in June 2019, Duran said: “I paid to avoid being arrested”, referring to a transfer of $612,000 to lawyer Marlus Arns, who never made a comment about the accusations.
Arns was one of the most prominent lawyers of Car Wash in the city of Curitiba, defending important defendants of the operation, besides closing some leniency deals.
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Previously, in 2017, the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo revealed that Duran said he exchanged messages with lawyer Carlos Zucoloto Junior, Moro’s friend and best man, in exchange for benefits from the former judge.
Duran has always said he would be open to talking to Justice to clarify any matter. However, he was never subpoenaed to testify while Moro was in charge of Operation Car Wash.
To lawyer Matteus Macedo, who works in Car Wash cases, Duran’s testimony can also lead to the annulment of cases already judged, as it could be proven that testimonies and arrests of others involved in the operation took place under blackmail.
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José Augusto Marcondes de Moura Júnior, also a lawyer, said Duran’s testimony will probably change Car Wash’s panorama because it could be the kickoff to investigate the “accusations factory” that allegedly existed in Curitiba.
“It may change the panorama as a whole. Alberto Youssef’s testimonies and those of others became a source of fake evidence. That’s a crime,” he concluded.
