Local time on Thursday, the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court issued an arrest warrant for former President Fernando Collor. On Friday morning, the Brazilian police arrested the 75 – year – old former president at the airport in the northeastern city of Maceió, commencing his prison term of 8 years and 10 months.
Collor was born into a political family in Rio de Janeiro in 1949. Following in the footsteps of his father, Senator Arnon de Melo, he started his political career in the northeastern state of Alagoas. He served as the mayor of Maceió, a federal deputy, and in the 1980s, he was the governor of Alagoas. When Brazil decided to end its 20 – year military dictatorship and return to democracy, he participated in Brazil’s first presidential election and made the final breakthrough, becoming Brazil’s first democratically elected president. In the first election, he defeated his opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the leader of the Workers’ Party, and took office in March 1990. However, it wasn’t long before he was betrayed by his brother.
His brother publicly reported him. During Pedro Collor’s presidential campaign, the president’s finance director, Farias, was alleged to have orchestrated the establishment of a secret slush – fund account to accept bribes in exchange for selling high – level positions in the new government. After an investigation by Congress, it was confirmed that Farias managed offshore accounts worth up to $1 billion for Collor and his wife’s personal expenses. In December 1992, Collor was impeached and forced to resign due to corruption and dereliction of duty, becoming the first Brazilian president to be impeached. In 1996, the finance director Farias was shot and killed in a villa in Maceió, and no one has been held accountable for this to date. In 2006, Collor returned to public office and served two consecutive eight – year terms as a senator in the Senate.
In 2014, Brazilian media publicly reported that the senior management of several large enterprises, including Petrobras, were involved in collective crimes. They established engineering companies in Brazil and South American countries, used their power to promote high – priced projects, and accepted bribes. Subsequently, the Brazilian police launched a large – scale operation called “Operation Car Wash” to investigate systematic corruption among senior figures in the Brazilian political and business circles. Many former and current government officials were indicted and sentenced, and Collor was also implicated.
According to the court’s accusation, during his tenure as a senator from 2010 to 2014, the former president accepted bribes of approximately 20 million reais to ensure that the construction company UTC Engenharia could undertake a fuel distribution facility project for BR Distribuidora, a former subsidiary of Petrobras. In 2023, the Brazilian Supreme Court convicted Collor of corruption and sentenced him to 8 years and 10 months in prison. Subsequently, Collor has been appealing according to legal procedures to delay the execution.
Local time on April 24, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled to reject the appeal filed by former President Fernando Collor and ordered his immediate arrest, requiring him to start serving his sentence.
In February this year, another former Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, was also accused of being involved in planning a coup to overthrow the Brazilian government in early 2023 and is under investigation. If convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison. The relevant case is currently under trial and investigation.
