PF places senator under suspicion of trying to interfere in investigation; Dino removes confidentiality from the case

The PF's suspicion is that there was an attempt to interfere by the senator in this investigation, which is investigating whether the murder is linked to an alleged bribery by Daniel Brandão, current president of the TCE (State Audit Court) of Maranhão. He is the nephew of the governor of Maranhão, Carlos Brandão (MDB).

Currently, the case is under the responsibility of Minister Flávio Dino, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), due to suspicions about Weverton. The mention of the phone calls is in Dino's decision on the case made public this Friday (14).

When contacted, the senator did not comment. The STJ minister, who is not formally investigated, was also contacted and did not take a position.

The communications were identified by the PF based on an analysis of Weverton's cell phone seized last year in the operation investigating suspected embezzlements related to the INSS - Dino asked André Mendonça, the case's rapporteur, to share the data with the Maranhão investigation.

The PF said that cell phone data reveals "the existence of direct communications with STJ minister Humberto Martins, maintained repeatedly between January 25, 2023 and October 4, 2025."

"According to the analysis, these contacts occurred through different channels, with text messages, audios, telephone calls and media sharing being identified, from the terminals linked to both", states the agency.

"The accessible content highlights dialogues that deal with personal meetings and processes under the report of the aforementioned minister. Initially, the existence of a relationship of personal proximity between the interlocutors was evident, which goes beyond the limits of a merely formal or institutional interaction."

The PF states that the senator made requests to the minister about actions that were being processed under his report and that there was a personal meeting in the magistrate's office in August last year.

The agency highlights a record from June 2 last year, in which there were exchanges of messages and a call answered lasting around five minutes, followed by an audio in which the senator mentions connection difficulties. “My brother, he fell here because the internet in Maranhão is really bad,” said the senator.

On the same date, Martins ordered the transfer of Gilbson Cesar Soares Cutrim Júnior (convicted of carrying out the murder in São Luís) from the Pedrinhas prison, in the capital of Maranhão, to Brasília.

The murder of businessman João Bosco Sobrinho occurred in 2022. Before the action reached the STF, Gilbson Cutrim was considered the perpetrator of the crime by the Maranhão courts and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

The case that was open at the STJ was investigating whether the murder of Bosco Sobrinho was linked to alleged bribery by Daniel Brandão, who is currently at the TCE. In November 2025, due to suspicions related to Weverton, the case went to the Supreme Court.

As Folha showed, the episode became a central point in discussions of the pre-election race for the Government of Maranhão and has provoked exchanges of accusations between groups that were linked to Dino, dissidents from these groups and opponents.

The PF is also investigating whether the murder was related to suspected deviations from parliamentary amendments to contracts signed in Maranhão.

When contacted through the consultancy, Carlos and Daniel Brandão did not comment. They have denied wrongdoing.

Previously, Carlos Brandão said in a statement that the lawsuits he has faced since 2024 stem from manipulated narratives and emerged after he distanced himself from a group that tried to remain in power.

"I was a federal deputy, vice-governor, secretary of state and I have never had any case against any action. Now, in this current context, from 2024 onwards, all these processes are emerging, within manipulated narratives, which do not match reality, after a political distance from a group that persisted in remaining permanently in public spaces of power, in an imposing manner and without dialogue", stated the governor.

Daniel Brandão also previously said that he repudiates the "repeated attempts to associate his name with criminal facts without any proof" and that the convict has already stated in one of the videos circulating about the crime that he, Daniel, "has no relationship with the facts".

The president of the TCE-MA added that the allegations "stem exclusively from narratives" and that they try to link his name to the episode "in periods of electoral dispute that involve the current governor's political group."

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