The 6th Civil Panel of the TJDFT convicted José Roberto Arruda and four other defendants of administrative improbity in a June 3, 2026 ruling. Each must pay R$ 1 million in collective moral damages. This marks Arruda's sixth second-instance conviction linked to Operation Caixa de Pandora.
The judges granted the Public Prosecutor's appeal and also imposed on Arruda the loss of political rights for 12 years. The defendants had already been ordered to repay R$ 257 thousand in damages. The total Arruda must return to the treasury across all cases reaches R$ 600 million.
The case involves a scheme of public fund diversion and bribe payments in the Federal District government between 2006 and 2009. Besides Arruda, those convicted include José Geraldo Maciel, Durval Barbosa Rodrigues, José Celso Valadares Gontijo and the company Call Tecnologia e Serviços Ltda.
Prosecutor Roberto Carlos Batista stated that corruption compromises 2% of GDP and affects sectors such as health and education. Arruda's defense said the ruling can be appealed and does not affect his eligibility for 2026.
