Judge Massimo Palazzolo, of the 4th Federal Criminal Court of São Paulo, summarily acquitted the lawyer and investor. Renato de Matteo ReginattoHe was accused by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of being part of a criminal organization responsible for fraud involving municipal pension funds, as part of Operation Encilhamento.
De Matteo was arrested in Italy in February 2019 after his name was included on Interpol's red notice. His defense argues that the decision confirms the lack of evidence. Lawyer Josiana Gonzaga de Carvalho stated: “The summary acquittal of Dr. di Matteo by the 4th Federal Court, for allegedly leading a criminal organization—the most serious of the accusations in this case—is merely the State's own acknowledgment of the complete absence of evidence for the prosecution.”
Operation Encilhamento investigated a scheme that allegedly operated between 2014 and 2018, involving irregular investments in unsecured private securities and prohibited investments. According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the "scheme caused significant losses to an investment fund composed of resources originating from the pension schemes of municipal employees from ten cities in São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Santa Catarina, and Amapá."
The Prosecutor's Office pointed to the issuance of debentures by shell companies "established solely to facilitate the embezzlement." The companies had a share capital of less than fifteen thousand reais, but issued bonds worth sixty million reais. According to the accusation, "of the amount collected, the companies transferred more than R$ 16,2 million to bank accounts and other legal entities linked to three partners."
According to the indictment, the businessmen allegedly "controlled the flow of money at all stages of the business, from raising millions of dollars to its final investment." This was the second indictment filed by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office in the case.
In acquitting the defendants, Judge Palazzolo stated that, although there is evidence of joint action, this does not prove the existence of a criminal organization. In his decision, he highlighted: “Despite the prosecution's narrative demonstrating in the records that Renato de Matteo acted jointly with the other co-defendants with the purpose of obtaining various economic advantages, consequently, in theory, committing crimes against the Financial System, these facts, by themselves, are not sufficient to demonstrate that the accused promoted, constituted, financed, or integrated a criminal organization, with the demonstration of circumstances that indicate the stability and permanence required for the imputed criminal type.”
The magistrate also assessed that there were no minimum elements to proceed with the criminal action. He wrote: “The stability and permanence among the other members of the alleged criminal organization, the hierarchy existing among the other participants in the investment funds under investigation in these proceedings, with the defendant Renato de Matteo, have not been demonstrated in the records, nor has the subjective element of intent, in the associative animus of a stable and permanent nature, been fully demonstrated.” He then concluded: “I find that there is no minimum evidentiary element for the continuation of this criminal prosecution.”
Following the decision, lawyer Josiana Gonzaga de Carvalho stated: “During the course of the process, we were able to prove several elements of nullity of the entire Operation Encilhamento, as well as having evidence accepted proving the innocence of Mr. Renato de Matteo Reginatto, for whom I am the lead lawyer responsible for his national and international defense.”
She added that the 2019 arrest was irregular. "The illegality of his arrest on February 12, 2019, carried out through an irregular red alert and without due process, as well as the undue, humiliating, and immoral publicity to which he was exposed across three continents, was evident."
The acquittal ends one of the main accusations presented in the case.
(With information from Agência Estado)
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