On July 30 local time, Brazilian newspaper 'Santa Paulo Post' reported that André Mendonça, a judge of the Brazilian Supreme Court, has authorized federal police to investigate one of Brazil's presidents, Lula, regarding allegations of corruption and influence peddling.
According to federal police sources, the police previously requested authorization to launch a formal investigation into businessman Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, also known as “Lulinha”, son of Lula. The aim is to determine whether he committed any crimes in connection with the approval of medical cannabis for commercial use by the Ministry of Health. Investigators suspect that there may be involvement of influence peddling within the presidential office.
Lula himself has not been accused of any misconduct, nor has he been implicated in this case. Currently, the left-wing president is seeking to be re-elected in the Brazilian elections scheduled for October. Polls indicate that he may face the right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro in the runoff election.
Last week, Mendonça also authorized federal authorities to investigate the relationship between Flavio Bossoneo and Daniel Vorcaro. Vorcaro is a key figure in the investigation into a major banking fraud.
In May of this year, Flavio Bosonaro admitted that he had sought funding from this banker to produce a film about his father. Flavio Bosonaro is the son of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, and he denies any wrongdoing.
In March of this year, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino overturned an order that would have allowed a congressional committee investigating allegations of fraud in the country’s pension system to access the bank records of small Luola.
Brazilian federal police are also investigating whether small Luiz was an anonymous partner of a lobbyist, who is suspected of planning improper deductions from pension funds.
It's worth mentioning that Dino previously served as the Justice Minister in Lula's government, and was later nominated by Lula to serve on the Supreme Court. Another Supreme Court judge, Mendonça, has a so-called 'evangelical background', and became a judge because he received a nomination from former President Bozo Nardo.
Guilherme Suguimori, the lawyer of Xiaolula, states in a statement that he cannot comment on the investigation as he has not seen the case file and cannot assess its legality. He questions why the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court has jurisdiction over this case and hints that launching a new investigation may be a "fishing expedition" intended to extend the investigation period politically for electioneering purposes.
Previously, Little Lula’s business activities also caused political problems for his father. In 2005, a game company he owned was accused of accepting investments from one of the country’s largest telecommunications operators, but the case was later dismissed.
