Politicians

Valdemar Costa Neto

ConvictedIn the press ×2Passive corruptionMoney launderingCriminal association (art. 288 of the Penal Code)Attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of LawCoup d'étatCriminal organization

national president of the PL, Jair Bolsonaro's party since 2021; former federal deputy (SP); convicted by Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF), final and unappealable, in AP 470 (mensalão) of passive corruption and money laundering, with the sentence extinguished by pardon in 2016; formally named as suspect by the Federal Police (PF) in the coup plot investigation, not charged by the Prosecutor-General's Office (PGR), with the investigation reopened by the STF in 2025

Translated from the Portuguese original. Legal details and sources are in the Portuguese version. See the full file in Portuguese, with all sources →

Support for Jair Bolsonaro

As national president of the PL, he agreed with Jair Bolsonaro, at a meeting on 23/11/2021, on his joining the party, signed on 30/11/2021; the PL made Bolsonaro its re-election candidate official at a convention on 24/07/2022. In 2026 he opened, with a speech, the PL convention that launched Flávio Bolsonaro for the Presidency.

Court cases and investigations

Criminal sphere

Arrest in flagrante of Valdemar Costa Neto in Operation Tempus Veritatis (firearm and gold nugget, 08/02/2024) — Under investigation
Federal Police (PF) investigation into the coup attempt after the 2022 election — Named as suspect by police
Criminal Case 470 (mensalão) — conviction of Valdemar Costa Neto — Convicted (final, unappealable)

See the full file in Portuguese, with all sources →