A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has disclosed that Environment Minister Ricardo Salles and other high-ranking officials within the ministry and Ibama, its enforcement arm, are named in a Federal Police investigation of illegal timber exports in 2019 and 2020. In one of two rulings, Justice Alexandre de Moraes wrote that the officials are named in a probe that Federal Police have publicly stated was prompted by “information from foreign authorities indicating possible malfeasance by public officials in timber exports.” The rulings, issued on May 13 in connection with the police investigation and made public on May 19, include no information suggesting Salles or other officials are being charged with a crime. However, de Moraes wrote that Federal Police have alleged they detected “suspicious [financial] transactions involving Salles, intermediated by the law firm in which he is a partner.” In the second of his two rulings, de Moraes authorized the... [Log in to read more]