Rio de Janeiro's Regional Electoral Court (TRE-RJ), the electoral tribunal that was also handling this criminal complaint, rejected by 4 votes to 3 the charges brought by prosecutors against former Rio mayor Marcelo Crivella (Republicanos), now a federal deputy and candidate for the Senate, in the case known as "QG da Propina" ("Bribe HQ"). The decision came in a session on Thursday (27), according to G1 and O Globo. With the rejection, Crivella does not become a defendant in the case, which accused him of corruption and money laundering.
The score was tied at 3 to 3, and the tie-breaking vote fell to the court's president, Justice Claudio de Mello Tavares, who had requested more time to review the case file. In his view, there is not enough evidence to move the case forward against the former mayor. "A public agent cannot be punished on the basis of conjecture", he said in his vote, according to G1. Tavares held that Crivella could not answer for acts allegedly committed by the other accused. The court also ruled that a lower court judge will decide how the case proceeds against the remaining defendants.
What prosecution and defense say
According to the complaint filed by the Public Prosecutor's Office, based on a Civil Police investigation, the scheme allegedly operated during Crivella's term as mayor (2017 to 2020) and involved Rafael Alves, brother of Marcelo Alves, then head of Riotur, the city's tourism company. Prosecutors say Rafael took part in recruiting businessmen and rigging public tenders, using shell companies, fake invoices and fictitious contracts. In the case, prosecutors sought convictions and the repayment of R$ 32 million (about US$ 6 million) to public coffers, O Globo reported. Earlier this year, prosecutors also charged Crivella and ten other people with administrative misconduct linked to the same scheme.
The defense denies the accusations and welcomed the ruling. "Justice was done with the refusal of the complaint against Marcello Crivella. The absence of just cause was proven. There was no illegality on Crivella's part", said lawyer Marcio Vieira Santos, quoted by G1.
Case timeline
The case has moved through the courts for years. In October 2024, the TRE-RJ itself declared Crivella ineligible for abuse of political and economic power and barred conduct in the 2020 elections. In July of this year, Supreme Court Justice Andre Mendonca suspended the ineligibility in an injunction. Last week, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) upheld the suspension by 4 to 3, with the decisive vote of Justice Kassio Nunes Marques, clearing the former mayor's Senate bid.
With Thursday's rejection, the criminal case against Crivella over the "Bribe HQ" scheme stalls. The next step belongs to the lower court: a judge will decide the fate of the action against the other people charged by prosecutors. No date has been set for that decision.