JOSÉ MARQUESBRASÍLIA, DF (FOLHAPRESS) - The governor of Maranhão, Carlos Brandão, asked the STF (Supreme Federal Court) to suspend the investigation reported by minister Flávio Dino that resulted in the removal of Daniel Brandão, president of the State Court of Auditors, this Monday (17). Daniel is the governor's nephew, and both are the target of investigations by the Federal Police related to suspected bribery charges that resulted in a homicide in 2022, in São Luís.
Governor of Maranhão asks the STF to suspend the investigation reported by Flávio Dino
JOSÉ MARQUESBRASÍLIA, DF (FOLHAPRESS) - The governor of Maranhão, Carlos Brandão, asked the STF (Supreme Federal Court) to suspend the investigation reported by minister Flávio Dino that resulted in the removal of Daniel Brandão, president...
Before joining the Supreme Court, Dino governed Maranhão and Brandão was his deputy. The STF minister's former allies, however, broke with the governor's group and are on opposite sides in this year's election.
- Brandão's defense asked that the STF suspend the Federal Police investigation into Brandão and that the case be sent to the PGR (Attorney General's Office) or the STJ (Superior Court of...
- The defense of another target of the investigations reported by Dino, Raimundo Cutrim, asked the STF that Dino be prevented from analyzing the case related to Maranhão.
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Before joining the Supreme Court, Dino governed Maranhão and Brandão was his deputy. The STF minister's former allies, however, broke with the governor's group and are on opposite sides in this year's election.
Brandão's defense asked that the STF suspend the Federal Police investigation into Brandão and that the case be sent to the PGR (Attorney General's Office) or the STJ (Superior Court of Justice), where governors have special jurisdiction.
The defense of another target of the investigations reported by Dino, Raimundo Cutrim, asked the STF that Dino be prevented from analyzing the case related to Maranhão. Raimundo is a former Secretary of Public Security and is under house arrest by order of the minister on suspicion of involvement in the case.
He says that Dino is "directly interested" in the investigation, as another investigation reported by Alexandre de Moraes points to suspicions that Cutrim would persecute him.
Brandão's request has not yet been distributed to a rapporteur at the STF. Cutrim's was sent to the president of the STF, Edson Fachin, who has not yet issued an order on the case.
The investigations became a central point in the electoral dispute in Maranhão because they involved opponents from Dino's former political group.
The murder in São Luís that started the case, of businessman João Bosco Sobrinho, occurred in 2022. Before the action reached the STF, a man named Gilbson Cutrim was considered the perpetrator of the crime by the Maranhão courts and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
The case, which was open at the STJ, investigated whether the murder of Bosco Sobrinho was linked to this alleged bribery by Daniel Brandão. In November 2025, there were suspicions that senator Weverton Rocha (PDT-MA) tried to interfere in the investigation, and the case went to the Supreme Court.
The PF is also investigating whether the murder was related to suspected deviations from parliamentary amendments to contracts signed in Maranhão.
Governor Carlos Brandão is being investigated as an alleged leader of a criminal organization. Weverton and Brandão deny having committed any irregularity. In a statement to the PF related to the case, according to UOL, Gilbson Cutrim said that he took bribes for the governor's group "inside the palace" of the government.
After his departure, Daniel Brandão stated in a statement that he learned of the decision through the press and received the news with "deep perplexity".
"I calmly and categorically reaffirm my absolute innocence and my confidence that the truth of the facts will be duly clarified. From the beginning, I have always been and continue to be entirely at the disposal of the authorities and the Judiciary to provide any clarifications that may be necessary, having even spontaneously filed a petition in the case, making myself available to be heard", he stated in a note.
"I have always guided my actions by respect for institutions and the Judiciary. For this same reason, although I deeply disagree with the measure adopted, I will fully comply with the court decision, at the same time that I will adopt, through legal means, all appropriate measures to fully exercise my right to defense and demonstrate the truth of the facts."
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