Brazil’s Supreme Court has authorised former President Fernando Collor de Mello to serve his prison sentence under house arrest, following his conviction on corruption and money laundering charges.
Collor, who was arrested on April 25 in Maceió, northeastern Brazil, had his appeal rejected by the Supreme Court, which upheld a previous ruling sentencing him to eight years and ten months in prison. He was found guilty in 2023 of accepting roughly 30 million reais (approximately $5.28 million) in bribes from a former subsidiary of state-run oil giant Petrobras.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, in a court order, authorised the house arrest under specific conditions, including that Collor wear an electronic ankle bracelet for monitoring.
Collor made history as the first president elected by popular vote after Brazil’s military dictatorship ended in 1985. He assumed office in 1990 but resigned two years later amid a separate corruption scandal, although he was later acquitted of those charges by the Supreme Court in 1994.
After a hiatus, Collor returned to politics as a senator representing the state of Alagoas. He remained in the Senate until early 2023, when he unsuccessfully ran for governor of the same state.
Melissa Enoch
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