[ad_1]
Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court, ordered the release of the money changer Chaaya Moghrabi, arrested last Friday (18) in Angra dos Reis. The arrest was dictated by Judge Caroline Vieira, of the 7th Federal Criminal Court, substitute for Judge Marcelo Bretas. Hours after the arrest, Gilmar Mendes ordered the money changer’s release. Known as Yasha, Chaaya Moghrabi is considered one of the five largest money changers in the country.
Several jewels hidden on the roof of a Chaaya family property in São Paulo were seized by agents of the Federal Public Ministry and the Federal Police during Operation Clãdestino last month. Images obtained by CNN this Sunday (20) they show the pieces, which are being analyzed by the expert.
Read also:
Supreme ministers ‘take’ Fux’s power out of recess
Lava Jato wanted to arrest Supreme Court ministers, hacker says in interview with CNN Brazil
This is the third arrest warrant for Chaaya Moghrabi. The first was issued in 2018 by federal judge Marcelo Bretas. In March 2019, Gilmar Mendes granted habeas corpus and replaced the prison with bail, delivery of passport and prohibition to leave the country. In April of the same year, Chaaya was detained by the Uruguayan police at the Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo. The Rio de Janeiro court ordered the preventive detention of Chaaya and the extradition of the accused to Brazil, but he fled.
The new arrest warrant cites the episode and argues that Moghrabi did not comply with a court decision when he left Brazil. However, Gilmar Mendes understands that there was no default because the value of the bond was still under discussion when the money changer was arrested abroad.
“At that time, I noticed that there was an ongoing discussion about the value of the bond and how to pay the fixed amount, which erroneously characterizes the alleged bad faith (…) I highlighted that the failure to deliver passports was also linked to This previous question of the guarantee that must be paid for the return to the country of the accused. However, in this third preventive detention decree, the court of origin tries to reintroduce this argument in an illegitimate way, by affirming that the plaintiff had remained a fugitive, unduly “, says the minister in a decision issued on Friday (18).
The arrest warrant also states that the money changer committed a crime of obstruction of justice because he took too long to open his door and refused to hand over his cell phone during a search and seizure last month. But, for Gilmar, those investigated have the right “not to blame themselves.” The minister also considers that the delay in opening the door does not affect the investigation because the police may have forced entry to the residence. Gilmar Mendes ends the order warning that he will notify the National Council of Justice if the 7th Federal Court of Rio insists on not complying with the decisions of the Federal Supreme Court.
Chaaya ordered his arrest in the operation “Câmbio, Desligo”, the same one that investigated the “money changer” Dario Messer. It is estimated that it moved around US $ 239.75 million between 2011 and 2017 through the illegal shipment of securities to offshore companies from accounts in Brazil and abroad.
