The special administrative court of the TRF-4, the federal appeals court that covers Brazil's three southern states, ruled on Thursday (27) that federal judge Eduardo Appio should lose his seat and spend five years on disponibilidade, a forced leave from the bench, after an investigation into the suspected theft of three bottles of champagne from a supermarket in Blumenau, in the state of Santa Catarina. The decision passed by 15 votes to 2, according to G1, and still has to be reviewed by the CNJ, the National Council of Justice, the body that oversees Brazilian judges and can confirm or reverse the removal.
What is confirmed
According to reporting by Folha de S.Paulo, Appio is suspected of taking three bottles of Moët & Chandon champagne, priced at R$ 399 each (about R$ 1,200 in total), from the Giassi supermarket chain, in episodes recorded on 20 September and on 4 and 18 October 2025. Surveillance footage described by G1 shows the judge placing a bottle in a shopping bag and walking past the checkout without paying; in one recording, security guards stop him in the parking lot. Police identified him through the license plate of the car he drove away in.
Santa Catarina's civil police referred the case to the court on 23 October. A week later, the TRF-4 temporarily suspended Appio and put the investigation under seal. In November, the judges opened a formal disciplinary case and lifted the secrecy. In Thursday's ruling, the court says the conduct attributed to Appio breaches the duty of irreproachable behavior even in private life and is incompatible with the dignity expected of a judge.
What is still open
The sources disagree on one point. G1 reports that the leave was ordered without pay, while Folha says Appio will receive a salary proportional to his years of service during the five years. Both agree the measure ends earlier if the removal is confirmed. In a statement, Appio contested the sanction: "Thirty-two years dedicated to honest public service, without a single day of leave. The decision (taken by majority) is unfair and disproportionate. I have faith in God and in the institutions". His lawyer, Eduardo Maines, told Folha the defense will only present its case within the proceedings.
Appio became nationally known in 2023, when he took over the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, responsible for the remaining cases of Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato), the corruption probe that reshaped Brazilian politics, replacing former judge Sergio Moro. He lasted just over three months in the role and was removed after appeals judge Marcelo Malucelli alleged that his son had received a threatening phone call attributed to Appio. The CNJ closed that disciplinary case in January 2024, after an agreement in which the judge admitted improper conduct without detailing it. Since then, he had been working in a court handling social security cases.
For anyone following the case, two tracks matter now. The first is the CNJ, which will receive the case file and decide whether to confirm the removal, the harshest sanction available for a Brazilian judge. The second is the criminal track: according to Folha, the TRF-4 will send the records to the Federal Prosecutor's Office and the Attorney General's Office because it sees signs of a crime. Until then, Appio remains away from the bench, as he has been since October 2025.