Vaza Jato: Former Odebrecht Director Claims he was Coerced by the Federal Prosecutor

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Another bombshell strikes Lava Jato. In a statement to the São Paulo Court of Justice, executive Carlos Armando Paschoal says he was coerced by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office to build a report on the ranch in Atibaia (São Paulo State), which resulted in the second conviction of former president Lula, who has been held as a prisoner in Brazil since April of last year.

Carlos Armando Paschoal, former director superintendent of Odebrecht, told the São Paulo courts that he was “virtually coerced into making a report about what had happened” and that he had to “build a report” on the Atibaia ranch, reports journalist Nathan Lopes, in UOL. The case led to former president Lula’s second conviction.

Paschoal testified in the TJ-SP (Court of Justice of São Paulo) on July 3rd as a witness. “In the case of the ranch, which I have absolutely nothing to do with, for instance, I was almost coerced into making a report about what had happened. And I, in fact, in that case, identified the money to do the work on the ranch. I had to build a report,” he said.

When asked to explain what he meant by “building a report”, Paschoal said it would have been something like “look, this happened, this, this, and this; and I appointed the engineer to do the work.”

Paschoal did not explain precisely what the prosecution’s coercion would have entailed, nor did he provide further details as to what had been “built” into his testimony.