The Superior Court of Justice, Brazil’s second-highest judicial body, has greenlit a corruption investigation against Governor Cláudio Castro of Rio de Janeiro. Mr. Castro is suspected of taking bribes, laundering money, and being part of a conspiracy to defraud social welfare agencies.
The crimes were allegedly committed between 2017 and 2020, when he served first as a city councilor in Rio de Janeiro, until 2018, and then as lieutenant governor of the eponymous state in 2019 and 2020.
Mr. Castro’s office means he can only be investigated, prosecuted, or tried with authorization from the high court.
Mr. Castro was accused by a former adviser of receiving funds (including in cash) diverted from institutions that provide services to the poor. He allegedly received USD 20,000 to pay for a trip to Disneyland, and BRL 100,000 (USD 19,822) in a backpack at a mall in Rio. There are images of the politician entering and leaving the place with the bag on his back.
The whistleblower helped finance Mr. Castro’s campaign for the City Council in 2016 and later became an advisor to the politician. He was arrested in 2019 for participating in the same criminal scheme, and was released after making a plea bargain deal and agreeing to deliver evidence to the police — including on the now-governor.
Mr. Castro denies the accusations and says he is suing the whistleblower for slander and slanderous accusations.
Since Brazil’s redemocratization, all living governors of Rio de Janeiro have been arrested or removed from office. The only ones who have not faced lawsuits are Benedita da Silva and Nilo Batista, lieutenant governors who took over the top job after the departure of the ticket heads.
Mr. Castro was elected in 2018 as former governor Wilson Witzel’s lieutenant. Mr. Witzel was removed from office in 2020 and later impeached over accusations of corruption in the healthcare sector during the pandemic. He was the first governor to be impeached in the country’s recent history.
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