Versión Español
Sao Paulo, Apr 11 (EFE) .- Brazilian Justice decreed the freezing of the assets of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his institute, and one of his companies for the payment of a millionaire debt, confirmed his defense today.
A court in Sao Paulo ordered to paralyze the assets of the former president, the Lula Institute, and the LILS company, in charge of conference management, to guarantee the payment of a debt of about 30 million reais (8.8 million dollars) with the state.
The defense of Lula said in a statement that within the framework of the operation ” Lava Jato ” the state wants to deny the former president “any possibility of defense by depriving him of his assets and resources to guarantee a tax debt that is still being discussed in the administrative sphere ”
According to Lula’s lawyer, Cristiano Zanin Martins, “the former president does not have the values indicated in the document and the decision of the seizure was challenged by appeal.”
“Neither the Institute, nor Lula, nor Paulo Okamotto (president of the institute) have 30 million reais,” the organization led by the former president said in a statement.
Lula (2003-2010) is in prison since Saturday at the headquarters of the Federal Police of Curitiba to serve a sentence of 12 years and one month in prison for passive corruption and money laundering in the “Lava Jato” case.
The Court ruled that Lula favored the construction company OAS in contracts with state oil company Petrobras and that the company rewarded him with an apartment in a spa in the state of Sao Paulo.
The defense considers that the sentence against Lula has no “legal basis” and that his prison faces the “presumption of innocence guaranteed in the Constitution.”
Since his incarceration, Lula has only received the visit of his lawyers and the court banned the visit of nine state governors, three senators and a leader of the Workers’ Party (PT).
