Frederick Wassef, lawyer for President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), managed to release wood seized from one of the targets of the operation considered by the Federal Police as the largest ever carried out in the environmental area.
At Wassef’s request, judge Ney Bello, from the TRF-1 (Regional Federal Court of the 1st Region), granted a preliminary (provisional) decision in December to return material collected in the police action to one of the investigated companies.
Operation Handroanthus GLO took place in December 2020. The seizure generated complaints from businessmen, who triggered the Bolsonaro government.
At the time, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles became involved in the case under the justification of trying to mediate the conflict, but his participation became the target of a crime report made by the PF to the Supreme Court for an alleged attempt to disrupt the investigations in progress. This and another investigation ended up causing his departure from the ministry.
Unless there are administrative or commercial restrictions, the products covered by the court order can be marketed by the company.
wanted by leaf, Wassef stated that he would not comment on the matter due to the secrecy of the investigations.
The company now represented by Wassef is MDP Transportes. She was not the first to benefit from TRF-1 decisions in the context of this investigation.
In October, the same judge had already determined the return of seized wood to six other companies under suspicion. Wassef is not linked to them.
Ney Bello is one of those listed for a vacancy in the STJ (Superior Court of Justice). The appointment will be made by Bolsonaro, from a triple list sent by the court to the Planalto Palace. The list of nominees will be defined in February.
Launched in late 2020 against illegal logging, Handroanthus resulted in the seizure of more than 131,000 m³ of logs on the border of Pará and Amazonas, equivalent to approximately 6,240 trucks full of cargo.
The case opened a political crisis that culminated in the ouster of Ricardo Salles from the Ministry of the Environment. Minister Cármen Lúcia, of the STF, authorized the opening of an investigation into the alleged attempt by the minister to embarrass investigations. At the same time, he and members of Ibama were searched for authorization by Minister Alexandre de Moraes in another investigation. Salles resigned in June.
In relation to MDP Transportes, the PF stated in the case file that it found evidence of forest exploitation carried out on a property linked to the company incompatible with the volume of forestry guides issued by the environmental authorities. And also suspected irregularities in the extractive activity authorization process.
The company, in turn, claimed that, at the time of the seizure of its assets, “there was no judicial authorization” or “a flagrant situation” to support the action of the investigators, accused of collecting products “unjustifiably” and “at random”.
He maintained the absence of evidence of criminal practice, in particular that the police were unable to demonstrate in the investigation that the seized wood originated from a location other than a management area duly authorized by the environmental authorities.
Finally, he stated that the restriction on assets had lasted a year without there being “any judicial decision confirming the seizure carried out by the PF/AM [Superintendência da PF no Amazonas]” and that it caused him harm.
In his decision, Ney Bello granted the preliminary injunction “to determine the immediate return of wood/logs that are duly labeled and legalized, originating from a legally exercised activity”.
According to the magistrate, documents presented by the MDP showed that the forest origin of the seized logs “is duly proven”.
He also stated that the seizure of goods “cannot be generic”, and it is up to the police to link each item seized to the crimes committed, “in order to demonstrate the clandestinity of the extraction and that the specified good is the product of the crime”. According to him, there was no information in the records that the police had made this identification.
“It is necessary to separate the factual situations that lead to criminal repercussions, since there is clearly, among the material seized, wood effectively legalized and object of authorized management plans and due environmental certification. It is not reasonable for legalized and properly classified wood to be confused with wood from clandestine landslides.”
The judge ordered the police to make this distinction and to return exclusively legalized wood, according to the document.
Trucks, ferries, documents and other movable property owned by MDP and seized during the PF action were also released by the TRF-1 member.
Bello stressed that the partial return of seized wood will not cause frustration in the investigations and in the progress of the investigation.
Before going to court, the company triggered the first instance of the Federal Court in Amazonas to try to recover the seized assets.
In September, after hearing the MPF (Federal Public Ministry), Judge Mara Elisa Andrade, from the 7th Federal Environmental and Agrarian Court in Amazonas, denied the request.
He understood, according to the position defended by the Prosecutor’s Office, that the restriction should be maintained due to the ongoing investigations, “free disposal or transfer to third parties being prohibited”.
The judge appointed MDP as the trustee of the assets so that it could transfer them from the places where they were apprehended to its premises in order to ensure their conservation.
The tens of thousands of logs seized by the Federal Police in the possession of the companies under investigation were dispersed in several locations.
“At the end of the investigations or criminal action, the judge may give the seized property the destination that suits the case, because the appointment of the petitioner as the faithful depositary does not have the power to interfere in the final destination of the property in question”, he said.
The company then appealed to the TRF-1 and obtained a favorable decision. THE leaf contacted Ney Bello, but he stated that he does not comment on court decisions.
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