José Gomes Graciosa, a councilor at the Rio de Janeiro State Audit Court, has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for money laundering through Swiss accounts. The ruling was issued by the Special Court of the Superior Court of Justice, with a 7-4 vote, though he can still appeal. His ex-wife was also sentenced, but her penalty was converted to community service.
José Gomes Graciosa, a councilor at the Rio de Janeiro State Audit Court (TCE-RJ), has been sentenced to 13 years in prison and removal from office for money laundering. The decision was handed down on September 4 by the Special Court of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), passing by a 7-4 vote. The effects are not immediate, and Graciosa can appeal.
He was arrested in 2017 as part of Operation Quinto do Ouro, a Lava Jato offshoot that uncovered a corruption scheme at the TCE-RJ. He has been suspended from his position since then. His ex-wife, Flávia Lopes Segura, received a sentence of 3 years and 8 months in an open regime, converted to community service.
According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the couple held two accounts in Switzerland—one in Graciosa's name and another through an offshore entity—to conceal funds from bribes. Minister Og Fernandes noted in his vote: “The values hidden abroad are direct offshoots of the undue advantages collected within the criminal organization”.
Lawyer Marcelo Leal, representing the couple, disputes the charges, claiming the indictment is generic and that the prosecutors failed to prove the money's corrupt origins. Graciosa and four other TCE-RJ councilors face another STJ case tied to the same scheme, which is nearing judgment.
