Mayor of RJ asks the STF for 50% of Petrobras' billionaire fund

Marcelo Crivella, mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro, requested on April 25 that the Federal Supreme Court release half of the R$ 2,5 billion blocked resulting from the agreement between Petrobras and the Federal Public Ministry

The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella (PRB), asked the Federal Supreme Court to release half of the R$ 2,5 billion resulting from agreements between Petrobras and the Federal Public Ministry that are blocked by order of the Court, to invest in the capital of Rio de Janeiro, which, like the State, is experiencing a situation of financial crisis that has been dragging on in recent years. In the document, Crivella pledged to return the amount within 90 days if, in the future, the plenary of the Supreme Court does not agree that the city hall was entitled to the amount. The request must be analyzed by Minister Alexandre de Moraes.

“Considering that the needs of the most underprivileged cannot wait, and the demands of the common good, I request [...] that your Excellency immediately authorize, on a preliminary basis, the raising of 50% of the value in question or another percentage that your Excellency sees fit as convenient, for use in health, education and mitigation of the deleterious effects of the heavy rains that hit the city”, wrote the mayor in the request.

To justify the release of half of the amount to Rio City Hall, Crivella claims that the city of Rio de Janeiro was heavily harmed by corruption at Petrobras, which is why the mayor requested an immediate release of 50% of the amount to help in the city. “The municipality of Rio de Janeiro was the one that suffered, in the most dramatic way, the effects of Lava Jato”, says part of the text.

Still according to the mayor, Petrobras' agreement with the United States foresees application in Brazil, without defining in which cities or states.

The action that is being discussed was presented by the Attorney General of the Republic, Raquel Dodge, to the Supreme Court to block the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of Paraná's decision. Initially, the oil company reached an agreement with US authorities to return US$ 853 million to investors, as compensation for fraud at the state-owned company.

The MPF task force in Paraná then closed another agreement with Petrobras to define how to apply the amounts, which provides for an investment of US$ 682 million in Brazil (about R$ 2,56 billion), with half of The amount (approximately R$1,25 billion) that Petrobras was obliged to invest in Brazil would be invested in an endowment fund to be managed by a private foundation to distribute the proceeds to projects to fight corruption and promote citizenship.

In compliance with the PRG's considerations, Moraes suspended the decision and also blocked the amounts. Moraes is the rapporteur of the action presented by the Attorney General of the Republic, Raquel Dodge, who questioned the agreement reached by the MPF of Paraná.

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