(CNN Spanish) — Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court on Wednesday sentenced former president and former senator Fernando Collor de Mello to eight years and 10 months in prison after convicting him of passive bribery and money laundering, the court said in a statement.
According to information released by the authorities, the sentence is linked to the investigation into the Lava Jato case and intervenes after ascertaining that Collor de Mello received 20 million reais (almost 4 million dollars at current exchange rates) to illegally conclude profitable contracts with the state in exchange for political support.
The court found that Collor de Mello, as a former leader of the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB, for its Portuguese acronym), was responsible for policy directives at BR Distribuidora, a subsidiary of state-owned Petrobras, and that he had received such money through improper benefits in company contracts.
According to the court, it was verified that, as part of this financial conspiracy, Collor received at least 40 deposits into bank accounts that were in his name.
The defense of Collor de Mello, president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, rejected the accusations against his client.
Collor de Mello will remain free until the sentence is appealed.
