Investigated for billion-dollar fraud, lawyer Nelson Wilians has his registration suspended at OAB-SP

Lawyer Nelson Wilians Fratoni Rodrigues, the target of investigations on suspicion of billion-dollar fraud and money laundering, has had his registration suspended at the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) in São Paulo. At the same time, a supplementary registration linked to the OAB of Paraíba appears in regular status.

Questioned this Saturday (17) by the reporting team about the suspension, the OAB-SP did not clarify the reason for the measure.

In a note, the São Paulo Bar Association informed that it "investigates all infractions that come to its attention, through representation or through publicly disclosed facts, through its Ethics and Disciplinary Court."

The entity added that, "the processes are confidential, and it is not possible to inform about possible investigations or their initiation."

In a note released this Saturday (17), Nelson Wilians stated that he received "with indignation the decision of the OAB that determined the suspension of my professional practice".

"I respect the institutional role of the Order and its duty to investigate possible infractions, but I consider it essential that the analysis of the facts preserves the guarantees of due legal process and does not anticipate judgments of guilt", declared the lawyer in the statement.

The lawyer also said that he intends to contest the measure. "The decision will be challenged through the appropriate channels, with the adoption of the necessary measures to defend my rights", he stated.

Target of three investigations

The suspension occurs amid investigations conducted by the Federal Police (PF) and the Public Ministry (MP).

In one of the cases, Operation Distrato investigates an alleged scheme to sell fraudulent credits from the Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) that would have caused an estimated loss of R$3.8 billion to public coffers. The investigation cites Nelson Wilians, who denies participation in the irregularities and assigns the execution of the operations under investigation to a partner office.

The lawyer is also being investigated by the Federal Police's Operation Arena, which investigates suspicions of money laundering, currency evasion and tax evasion involving companies in the sports betting sector. Nelson Wilians denies having committed any irregularities.

In the note released after the suspension, the lawyer also stated that he has been removed from the presidency of the office that bears his name since August 14 of this year. According to him, the bank continues to operate under the management of other professionals.

To date, investigations are ongoing and there has been no conviction of Nelson Wilians in the cases mentioned.