CNJ removes Gabriela Hardt, former Lava Jato judge, for two years

The judge became known after acting as a replacement for former judge Sergio Moro at the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, responsible for investigations into Operation Lava Jato.

Gabriela was the target of an administrative disciplinary process at the CNJ for having approved, in 2019, the agreement between the Lava Jato Task Force and Petrobras to return resources that were in the United States and were diverted from the state-owned company.

With the decision, the judge was sentenced to the penalty of availability with proportional salaries, that is, with a reduction in salary for the period of absence. Currently, Gabriela is a substitute judge at the 23rd Federal Court in Curitiba.

Judgment

By majority vote, the CNJ plenary followed the vote given by counselor Rodrigo Badaró. The rapporteur understood that Gabriela Hardt failed to adopt minimum precautions when authorizing transfers to the private foundation that would be responsible for managing the resources.

Last to vote, the president of the council and the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Edson Fachin, praised Lava Jato's work in combating corruption, but considered that "the ends do not justify the means".

"The gross corruption that occurred and was investigated by Operation Lava Jato is not under discussion. But what is under discussion is that you cannot combat irregularity by committing irregularity," he stated.

Defense

During the trial, lawyer Ana Luísa Vogado de Oliveira said that the judge did not commit any irregularities when determining the approval of the agreement. For the lawyer, Gabriela understood that the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) in Curitiba and Petrobras had the legitimacy to sign the measure.

"The judge was not motivated by bias, by interests. This judge loves invisibility, she argues that the judge does not have to appear. She had an interpretation of judicial conduct, but this conduct never had anything extra-legal, which would generate an error. Errors in the records can be fought with mechanisms and own resources", argued the lawyer.

Agreement

The agreement provided for the transfer of R$2 billion to a foundation of social interest to combat corruption. The fund would be managed by members of the Lava Jato task force. The case became known as the Dallagnol Foundation, in reference to former public prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, then head of the investigation group.

In 2019, approval was suspended by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), after the Attorney General's Office (PGR) filed an appeal.