Sandra Inês Rusciolelli Azevedo and her son, Vasco Rusciolelli Azevedo, were convicted of corruption, criminal association and money laundering. The two left Brazil in September and are in Portugal.
The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ordered the inclusion of the names of retired judge Sandra Inês Moraes Rusciolelli Azevedo and her son, lawyer Vasco Rusciolelli Azevedo, on Interpol's international wanted list. The two were convicted of involvement in the sentence selling scheme investigated by Operation Faroeste.
The decision was signed on Thursday (5) by Minister Og Fernandes, rapporteur of the case. g1 tries to contact the defenses of the convicts.
In addition to the inclusion of names in Interpol's Red Diffusion, a mechanism used to locate internationally wanted people, the magistrate authorized the necessary measures for a possible extradition request with the Portuguese authorities.
According to information presented by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), Sandra Inês and Vasco left Brazil on September 21, heading to Lisbon, in Portugal. They disembarked in the Portuguese capital the following day.
The situation came to light after the MPF informed the court that the two were out of the country and pointed out signs that they were trying to make it difficult to locate them.
In August, before the trip, the convicts had informed the Court of a new home address. However, when a court official tried to carry out an investigation at the property in October, he was unable to find them.
According to the server's certificate, the building's doorman stated that Sandra Inês had never lived there.
On the same occasion, the officer managed to speak on the phone with Vasco, but the call was ended after he informed him that he was an STJ employee.
For Minister Og Fernandes, the sequence of events indicates a concrete risk of escape and an attempt to avoid complying with court orders. The judge highlighted that it was not just an international trip, but a set of attitudes that would point to a deliberate attempt to escape Brazilian justice.
Sentenced to more than 13 years in prison
The preventive detention was ordered one day after Sandra Inês and Vasco were unanimously convicted by the Special Court of the STJ.
The retired judge received a sentence of 14 years and 20 days in prison, in addition to the loss of her position. Her son was sentenced to 13 years and 11 months in prison, initially closed.
The two were found guilty of the crimes of passive corruption, criminal association and money laundering.
In the same trial, lawyer Vanderlei Chilante was also sentenced to 4 years, 11 months and 25 days in prison, and rural producer Nelson José Vígolo was sentenced to 4 years, 1 month and 20 days.
Whistleblower Júlio César Cavalcanti Ferreira received a judicial pardon.
Prison replaced by precautionary measures
The STJ's decision also recalls that Sandra Inês and Vasco had already benefited from the relaxation of judicial measures during the investigations.
In September 2020, their preventive detention was replaced by house arrest with electronic monitoring. The house arrest was later revoked, but they continued to be monitored by electronic ankle bracelets.
In February 2022, other precautionary measures were imposed, including the obligation to keep the address updated before the courts and the prohibition of contact with other people being investigated.
For Og Fernandes, communicating an address that was not confirmed by due diligence represents non-compliance with these determinations.
Operation Faroeste
Launched at the end of 2019, Operation Faroeste investigates a scheme for selling court decisions in Bahia, related to land disputes in the west of the state.
The investigations revealed the participation of magistrates, lawyers and businesspeople in negotiations to favor the interests of an agricultural company in legal proceedings.
According to the Federal Public Ministry, those involved had acted to guarantee the ownership of rural properties in exchange for approximately R$4 million. Of this total, around R$2.4 million would have been effectively paid.
The investigation also identified suspicions of land grabbing in an area that could exceed 360 thousand hectares.
Sandra Inês was removed from office in 2020 and compulsorily retired by the National Council of Justice (CNJ), in December 2024.
The operation has already resulted in several arrests and convictions of people identified as members of the scheme, including magistrates and lawyers.
