Rio Court Orders Cabral and Pezão to Pay Over R$4 Billion in Civil Corruption Case

Overview

• The 15th Public Finance Court in Rio found former governors Sérgio Cabral and Luiz Fernando Pezão and ex‑secretary Hudson Braga liable for administrative impropriety tied to the 2014 campaign.
• Financial penalties set by the ruling total more than R$4 billion: Cabral over R$2.5 billion, Pezão over R$1.4 billion and Braga over R$35 million.
• The court suspended political rights for the trio, barring Cabral for 10 years, Pezão for 9 and Braga for 8.
• Judges cited illegal tax‑incentive schemes and undeclared campaign funding involving Grupo Petrópolis, Fetranspor, J&F and payments linked to Odebrecht, including R$1.374 billion against Pezão over FUNDES and more than R$2.5 billion against Cabral tied to Fetranspor.
• Additional sanctions include R$15.6 million each for Odebrecht‑related donations, R$30 million for Cabral and R$15 million for Pezão linked to J&F, plus collective moral‑damage awards of R$25 million for Cabral and R$10 million for Pezão, with the court noting harm to state finances in a case filed by prosecutors in 2018.