EX-PRESIDENT HOPING FOR COMEBACK CONVICTED OF MONEY-LAUNDERING
Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was convicted of graft and moneylaundering for his part in the country’s sweeping corruption scandal, potentially removing him from the political scene just as his prospects of returning to the presidency were gaining momentum.
Sergio Moro, the lead judge in the multibillion-dollar corruption probe known as Carwash, sentenced Lula to nine and a half years, according to a document from the federal court in Parana state. The judge has not asked for the former president’s immediate arrest.
The guilty sentence delivers a major setback to Lula’s intentions of leading the Workers’ Party back to power in the 2018 election. The 71-year-old former labour leader remains one of the most popular presidents in Brazilian history and he had managed to consolidate his position in recent months as the frontrunner for next year’s race. If his sentence is upheld on appeal, he will become ineligible to run. The conviction of the left-wing leader comes just days before a lower house vote on whether to put President Michel Temer on trial for corruption.
Graft investigations had been drawing closer to Lula for over a year, as prosecutors filed charges against him in five separate criminal cases, which range from allegations of influence peddling to accepting perks from companies in exchange for government favours. The former president has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said the accusations are part of a campaign to discredit him. After Wednesday’s sentence, he faces four more trials.