A document sent by the General Secretariat of the Presidency of Brazil to the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba is one more element that belies the complaint in which the Federal Attorney’s Office accuses the former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of being the owner of an apartment in Guarujá (Criminal Action n. 5046512-94.2016.4.04.7000).

Lula, like every other President who preceded him, counts on a group of advisors supported by the Presidency of the Republic. Eventual daily expenses on such personnel are registered by the General Secretariat, with the express indication of the places where they have been. The last night the advisors spent a night in Guarujá (state of São Paulo) was on 01/17/2011, when they stayed with the former President at a military base in the aforementioned city, due to an invitation made by the then Minister of Defense Nelson Jobim. This is precisely what the document proves.

The Federal Attorney’s Office affirms that the OAS allegedly transferred the ownership of apartment 164-A located at the Solaris Condominium, in Guarujá, as a compensation for undue advantages derived from three contracts signed with Petrobras. The building was concluded in 2014 and up to this moment, 24 hearings were conducted and 73 witnesses were heard only regarding this case. None of them have made any declaration that may associate Lula with illegal acts practiced in the scope of Petrobras or with the ownership of the apartment in Guarujá. The testimonies have also clarified that the former President and his family have never had the property’s keys or spent a single night there.

Lula has visited the apartment only once to make his mind about his interest in its purchase, which was ruled out. That was confirmed by the head of Lula’s support team, Mr. Valmir de Moraes. The document just sent by the General Secretariat of the Presidency of Brazil fully confirms the testimony given by the former President’s advisor.

This is one more element expressing the untruth about the accusation made by Federal Attorney’s Office against Lula, who is not and has never been the owner of the three-story apartment in Guarujá.

Cristiano Zanin Martins and Roberto Teixeira