Latest news with #FernandoCollordeMello
The Hindu
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Brazil ex-president Collor to be released on house arrest
Elderly former Brazilian president Fernando Collor de Mello, who was jailed last week for corruption, will be allowed to serve his sentence under house arrest for "humanitarian" reasons, a judge said Thursday. Brazil's first democratically-elected president after a decades-long dictatorship last week began serving a nine-year sentence for taking bribes while a senator between 2010 and 2014. The 75-year-old, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease, was convicted of taking 20 million reais ($3.5 million) in bribes to arrange contracts between a construction company and a former subsidiary of Brazil's state oil company Petrobras. Mr Collor was jailed in a prison in the northeastern city of Maceio, where he has a residence. His lawyers had asked that he be allowed serve his sentence at home. Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered him to prison, agreed to the request, citing Collor's "serious health age and the necessity of special treatment." Mr. Collor will have to hand in his passport and wear an electronic ankle bracelet, Moraes added. Mr. Collor resigned as president in 1992, after less than three years in power, to avoid being impeached by parliament for corruption. He is not the first former Brazilian leader to fall foul of the law. Far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial over an alleged coup plot after losing elections in 2022. And left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who served two terms between 2003 and 2010, spent a year-and-a-half behind bars for bribe-taking and money laundering before having his conviction annulled and winning a third term in October 2022.
The Star
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Brazilian ex-President Collor faces house arrest for bribery charges
FILE PHOTO: Brazilian Senator Fernando Collor de Mello, a former president, speaks during a session of the Brazilian Federal Senate in Brasilia July 14, 2015. . REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The Brazilian Supreme Court has authorized former Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello to serve house arrest after being sentenced to almost 9 years in prison on corruption and money laundering charges, according to a court order seen by Reuters on Thursday. Collor was arrested on April 25 in the northeastern city of Maceio after the Supreme Court rejected his challenges against a previous conviction and ordered him to start serving jail time. The top court sentenced Collor, the first president to win the popular vote after the end of Brazil's last military dictatorship in 1985, to eight years and 10 months in prison in 2023 on corruption and money laundering charges. According to the order by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, Collor will wear an ankle bracelet while under house arrest. The 2023 conviction came after Brazilian prosecutors accused Collor of receiving around 30 million reais ($5.28 million) in bribes from a then subsidiary of state-run oil company Petrobras. Collor took office as president in 1990, but did not finish his term as Congress decided to impeach him two years later amid a separate corruption scandal for which Supreme Court acquitted him in 1994. He was later elected as a senator representing the state of Alagoas. He left Congress in early 2023 following an unsuccessful bid for governor of Alagoas. (Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Brazil Supreme Court ratifies ex-president Collor de Mello's sentence
Representative Image (AI-generated) BRASILIA: Brazil's Supreme Court has ratified a near nine-year prison sentence for ex-president Fernando Collor de Mello , convicted of corruption and money laundering . Brazil's first democratically-elected president after a decades-long dictatorship, Collor de Mello was arrested and taken to prison last week to begin serving his sentence. In 2023, he was found guilty of having received 20 million reais ($3.5 million) in bribes while a senator between 2010 and 2014 to "irregularly facilitate contracts" between a construction company and a former subsidiary of Brazil's state oil company Petrobras. He lost an appeal to the Supreme Court last week, a ruling that was upheld in a late-night session Monday by a full bench of that court. His case is one of several to emerge from the sprawling "Car Wash" corruption scandal that implicated dozens of top businessmen and politicians in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Egypt: New Small Electric Car For Seniors. Prices Might Surprise You. Electric Cars | Search Ads Undo The investigation uncovered a vast network of bribes paid by large construction companies to politicians to obtain major public works contracts. Collor de Mello, who served from 1990 to 1992, is not Brazil's first president to fall afoul of the law. Four of the seven people who have led the country since the 1964-1985 military dictatorship have either been convicted, jailed or impeached. In the latest case, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial over an alleged coup plot after losing elections in 2022. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva , who served two terms between 2003 and 2010, spent a year-and-a-half behind bars in a Car Wash-related case before having his conviction annulled and winning a third term in October 2022.
News24
25-04-2025
- Politics
- News24
Brazil's ex-president Collor de Mello arrested in corruption case: police source
Brazil's former president Fernando Collor de Mello was arrested on Friday, a federal police source told AFP, after a top court upheld his nearly nine-year sentence on corruption and money laundering charges. Collor de Mello, Brazil's first democratically elected president, was forced to resign in 1992, halfway through his term, after Congress launched impeachment proceedings against him for allegedly taking bribes. According to a police source who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, the 75-year-old was arrested in the northeast of the country. On Thursday, a court rejected his efforts to annul the arrest order. Prosecutors allege the funds were received to "irregularly facilitate contracts" between a construction company and a former Brazilian state oil company Petrobras subsidiary. Collor de Mello is not Brazil's first president to run afoul of the law. Four of the seven presidents who have led the country since the 1964-1985 military dictatorship have either been convicted, jailed or impeached. In the latest case, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial over an alleged coup plot after losing the 2022 election.
Express Tribune
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Fernando Collor, Brazil's ex-President, arrested after court upholds conviction
Listen to article Former Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello was arrested early Friday morning after the country's Supreme Court rejected his appeals and ordered him to begin serving a prison sentence for corruption and money laundering. Collor, 74, was taken into custody at 4:00 am local time by federal police in the northeastern city of Maceió, as he travelled to Brasília to voluntarily comply with the arrest order. His lawyer, Marcelo Bessa, confirmed the arrest in a statement and said the former president had intended to turn himself in. The arrest was ordered by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who on Thursday dismissed Collor's final legal challenges. The court had previously sentenced the former president to eight years and 10 months in prison in 2023, following a conviction for accepting around 30 million reais (approximately $5.3 million) in bribes from a former subsidiary of state oil giant Petrobras. Bessa expressed 'surprise and concern' at the court's decision but affirmed that Collor would comply with the legal ruling. Collor made history in 1989 as the first Brazilian president elected by popular vote after the end of the military dictatorship in 1985. However, his presidency was short-lived. In 1992, Congress impeached him amid a separate corruption scandal—though he was later acquitted by the Supreme Court in 1994. Despite his controversial past, Collor returned to political life, serving as a senator for Alagoas until early 2023, when he stepped down after an unsuccessful run for governor of the state. The arrest marks a dramatic turn in the legacy of one of Brazil's most controversial political figures, once seen as a symbol of democratic renewal and later tainted by scandal and legal battles.
