A Brazilian federal court has overturned the verdict against Carlos Arthur Nuzman, president of the organizing committee at the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The now 81-year-old was sentenced to 30 years, eleven months and eight days in prison in November 2021 for corruption, organized crime, money laundering and illegal financial transfers.
The reason given by the court for the withdrawal was that the judge responsible at the time did not have the legal competence to decide in the case.
Trial for alleged vote buying
“From the beginning, the judge took care of a case that did not fall within his jurisdiction,” Nuzman’s lawyer Joao Francisco Neto told AFP on Thursday.
The verdict in this case against Sergio Cabral was also withdrawn. The then governor of the state was supposed to be behind bars for ten years. However, Cabral has been in prison since November 2016 and has already served over 300 years for various other crimes.
Nuzman was put on trial for allegedly buying votes in the awarding of the Sugarloaf Games.