A fearless crusader against endemic corruption, or an ambition-driven puritan waging war on the left? Judge Sergio Moro, who will be Brazil's next justice minister under far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, has been portrayed as both.
Moro is the judge behind "Operation Car Wash," the investigation that upended Brazilian politics by uncovering the large-scale looting of state oil company Petrobras by some of the country's best-known and most powerful politicians and business executives.
His biggest target was former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), the seemingly invincible leftist icon he sent to jail for taking bribes and laundering money.
Currently serving a 12-year sentence, Lula was barred from standing Brazil's recent presidential elections -- potentially changing the country's destiny. Polls showed he would have beaten Bolsonaro, who says the former president should "rot in prison."
No sooner did Bolsonaro win than he invited Moro to head a "super ministry" of justice and public security in his government.
It is a hugely popular decision with those who see the stern, square-jawed Moro as a hero. But his critics see it as proof the judge pulled the strings of justice to manipulate the country's politics.
- Sweeping 'Car Wash' probe -
Moro, 46, is based in the southern city of Curitiba, where the massive anti-corruption investigation was launched in 2014. Initially centered on Petrobras, the probe has expanded to encompass a huge swathe of the political and business worlds.
Headed by Moro, the investigation has become one of the world's biggest corruption sweeps ever, tackling business empires like the powerful Odebrecht construction group.
Exposing a vast embezzlement scheme, Moro was quick to jail almost all of Petrobras's former directors, before turning his gavel on the powerbrokers at Odebrecht, leaving no one untouchable.
That led him to the dirty money being pumped to the world of political campaigning, with the scandal touching most of Brazil's parties. Moro swiftly moved to take down a string of top-level players from across the political spectrum.
But opponents say he has targeted Lula and his once-unstoppable Workers' Party most of all.
- 'Can make anything happen' -
Lula saw early on that Moro -- whose base in provincial Curitiba is more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Brasilia -- was a threat.
"Honestly, I'm scared of this 'Republic of Curitiba' because a district judge can make anything happen in this country," the former president could be heard saying in a 2016 phone conversation leaked from the investigation.
Born in 1972 in Maringa, near Curitiba, Moro studied law, earned a doctorate and became a federal judge in 1996.
He completed his training at Harvard law school, going on to specialize in money laundering crimes. He took inspiration from Italy's "Clean Hands" anti-corruption drive in the 1990s, which led to the conviction of half the country's lawmakers.
In a 2004 article on that operation, Moro sketched out what would become the method that thrust him into the limelight 10 years later: getting detailed confessions from suspects in exchange for reduced sentences, as well as leaking elements of the probe to the press.
"Moro has instituted preventative detention as the norm, whereas in any other civilized country, it is the exception," said lawyer Antonio Carlos de Almeida, who was on the Petrobras defense team.
- Hero to millions -
A married father of two, Moro's unprecedented assault on business-as-usual has elevated him to hero status for many Brazilians, who see him as a knight in shining armor in the fight against the country's rampant corruption.
His face even became a standard feature on banners and t-shirts at corruption rallies around the country. Some supporters want him to run for president.
But the tough-talking judge prefers to avoid public appearances. On the rare occasion when he has ventured out, it was to ask his "fans" to exercise restraint.
And though he had denied having political ambitions, he will now head the justice ministry of a far-right president who has vowed to "change the destiny" of Latin America's largest and most populous country.
rs-burs/sms-jhb/ch
A fearless crusader against endemic corruption, or an ambition-driven puritan waging war on the left? Judge Sergio Moro, who will be Brazil’s next justice minister under far-right President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, has been portrayed as both.
Moro is the judge behind “Operation Car Wash,” the investigation that upended Brazilian politics by uncovering the large-scale looting of state oil company Petrobras by some of the country’s best-known and most powerful politicians and business executives.
His biggest target was former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), the seemingly invincible leftist icon he sent to jail for taking bribes and laundering money.
Currently serving a 12-year sentence, Lula was barred from standing Brazil’s recent presidential elections — potentially changing the country’s destiny. Polls showed he would have beaten Bolsonaro, who says the former president should “rot in prison.”
No sooner did Bolsonaro win than he invited Moro to head a “super ministry” of justice and public security in his government.
It is a hugely popular decision with those who see the stern, square-jawed Moro as a hero. But his critics see it as proof the judge pulled the strings of justice to manipulate the country’s politics.
– Sweeping ‘Car Wash’ probe –
Moro, 46, is based in the southern city of Curitiba, where the massive anti-corruption investigation was launched in 2014. Initially centered on Petrobras, the probe has expanded to encompass a huge swathe of the political and business worlds.
Headed by Moro, the investigation has become one of the world’s biggest corruption sweeps ever, tackling business empires like the powerful Odebrecht construction group.
Exposing a vast embezzlement scheme, Moro was quick to jail almost all of Petrobras’s former directors, before turning his gavel on the powerbrokers at Odebrecht, leaving no one untouchable.
That led him to the dirty money being pumped to the world of political campaigning, with the scandal touching most of Brazil’s parties. Moro swiftly moved to take down a string of top-level players from across the political spectrum.
But opponents say he has targeted Lula and his once-unstoppable Workers’ Party most of all.
– ‘Can make anything happen’ –
Lula saw early on that Moro — whose base in provincial Curitiba is more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from Brasilia — was a threat.
“Honestly, I’m scared of this ‘Republic of Curitiba’ because a district judge can make anything happen in this country,” the former president could be heard saying in a 2016 phone conversation leaked from the investigation.
Born in 1972 in Maringa, near Curitiba, Moro studied law, earned a doctorate and became a federal judge in 1996.
He completed his training at Harvard law school, going on to specialize in money laundering crimes. He took inspiration from Italy’s “Clean Hands” anti-corruption drive in the 1990s, which led to the conviction of half the country’s lawmakers.
In a 2004 article on that operation, Moro sketched out what would become the method that thrust him into the limelight 10 years later: getting detailed confessions from suspects in exchange for reduced sentences, as well as leaking elements of the probe to the press.
“Moro has instituted preventative detention as the norm, whereas in any other civilized country, it is the exception,” said lawyer Antonio Carlos de Almeida, who was on the Petrobras defense team.
– Hero to millions –
A married father of two, Moro’s unprecedented assault on business-as-usual has elevated him to hero status for many Brazilians, who see him as a knight in shining armor in the fight against the country’s rampant corruption.
His face even became a standard feature on banners and t-shirts at corruption rallies around the country. Some supporters want him to run for president.
But the tough-talking judge prefers to avoid public appearances. On the rare occasion when he has ventured out, it was to ask his “fans” to exercise restraint.
And though he had denied having political ambitions, he will now head the justice ministry of a far-right president who has vowed to “change the destiny” of Latin America’s largest and most populous country.
rs-burs/sms-jhb/ch
