The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) opened on Wednesday a probe into allegations that Environment Minister Ricardo Salles obstructed environmental inspections involving the largest seizure of illegally chopped wood in the history of Brazil.
The
court decision signed by STF Justice Carmen Lúcia follows a petition from the
Attorney General’s Office filed earlier this week, which stems from a complaint
filed in March by Amazon Federal Police superintendent Alexander Silva Saraiva,
who accused Salles of using his position as a top official to sponsor the
interest of loggers and hinder an investigation involving environmental crimes.
According
to Saraiva, the Minister has obstructed a police investigation into the seizure
of more than 226.000 cubic meters of illegally extracted wood with an estimated
value of some US$25,5 million. The seizure was part of an operation conducted
last December that targeted illegal wood smuggling extracted from the Amazon.
Saraiva said Salles ‘fiercely criticized’ law enforcement procedures and
challenged officers to present reports and documentations on the case within a
week.
Saraiva
added that Brazil’s environmental regulatory agency, IBAMA, remained ‘inert and
uninterested’ in exercising its role as a watchdog from the beginning of the
operation, raising suspicions of a possible conflict of interests.
The
superintendent also accused Labor Party senator Telmario Mota of opposing the
Federal Police’s fight against deforestation in the Braziling Amazon.
“It is
clear that Minister Ricardo Salles, Senator Telmario Mota and the President of
IBAMA, Eduardo Bim, knowingly and willingly, hinder the oversight action of
public authorities in dealing with environmental matters, and directly sponsor
private and illegitimate interests (of the loggers) before the public
administration, taking advantage of their power as public officials,” the court
decision quotes Saraiva’s complaints.
An
advisor of Salles told Brazilian newspaper O Globo earlier this week that an
investigation would serve as “a good opportunity to clarify the events.”
This is
the second investigation involving Salles and illegal wood smuggling.
Last
month, the STF ordered federal police to search premises throughout the states
of Brazil’s Federal District, São Paulo, and Pará after Salles and other top
officials reportedly enabled about 8,000 shipments of timber harvested in
violation of local regulations.
The
Minister, nicknamed ‘The Terminator’ by Brazilian climate activists, has denied
the allegations and described the law enforcement actions as ‘exaggerated.’
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/14563-brazilian-minister-probed-for-obstructing-environmental-investigation