Sidney Oliveira posts R$ 25 million bail and is placed under house arrest with ankle monitor

The judge accepted the opinion of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of São Paulo, which stated that the house arrest of Aparecido Sidney Oliveira and Mario Otavio Gomes does not pose ‘risk to the investigations’. The Justice of São Paulo granted house arrest on Friday (15) for the businessmen Sidney Oliveira, owner of Ultrafarma, and Mário Otávio Gomes, statutory director of Fast Shop, under the payment of a R$ 25 million bail. In the decision, Judge Paulo Fernando Deroma de Mello maintained the temporary arrest of the tax auditor Artur Gomes Da Silva Neto, accused of receiving almost R$ 1 billion in bribes for granting tax credits, for another five days. The judge accepted the opinion of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of São Paulo, which considered that the house arrest of Aparecido Sidney Oliveira and Mario Otavio Gomes does not pose ‘risk to the investigations’. However, he pointed out that ‘this Magistrate understands that granting provisional release to the investigated Aparecido Sidney and Mário Otávio is premature’. The judge emphasized that the case is of ‘extreme seriousness’, with the understanding that ‘the only plausible explanation for the request for release is a possible ongoing plea bargain agreement’. ‘I accept the understanding that if the Public Prosecutor’s Office requests any precautionary measure other than pre-trial detention, it will be up to the Magistrate to decree the most appropriate precautionary measure, even if more severe,’ he stated. The decision imposed the following precautionary measures on the executives: – Monthly appearance in court to inform and justify activities; – Prohibition from entering buildings related to the São Paulo State Department of Finance, unless duly summoned; – Prohibition from contacting other defendants and witnesses; – Prohibition from leaving the district without prior notification to the Court; – Nighttime and days off home confinement after 8:00 p.m.; – Electronic monitoring; – Surrender of passport on the first business day after release; – Payment of bail set at R$ 25 million. Regarding tax auditor Artur Gomes Da Silva Neto, the judge decided that the temporary arrest should be maintained to ‘ensure the collection of essential evidence for the investigation, avoiding any interference in the investigations, such as intimidating witnesses or hiding and manipulating potential evidence’. ‘The arrest of the suspect is essential for the conclusion of the investigation of the police inquiry opened for the thorough investigation of the crimes in question; in this sense, there are pending investigative measures to be executed, notably the analysis of the content found in the media and electronic devices seized during the search and seizure operations,’ he stated.