Brazilian Government Actions PF and PGR to Investigate $1 Million from the U.S. Against the STF

 

By Cleber Lourenço

Brazilian Government Actions PF and PGR to Investigate $1 Million from the U.S. Against the STF
Criminal complaint seeks the identification of potential beneficiaries in Brazil and an investigation into foreign interference in the electoral process
10/01/2026

The Attorney General’s Office (AGU) moved this Thursday (1st) to activate the Federal Police (PF) and the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGR) to investigate who in Brazil may have benefited from $1 million allocated by the United States government to a program funding groups opposed to the actions of the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

The criminal complaints request the identification of potential recipients of the money within the country and an probe into possible foreign interference in Brazil's political debate and electoral process.

Speaking to ICL Notícias, the Attorney General of the Union, Jorge Messias, described any attempt at external interference in the choice of Brazilian voters as “repulsive.”

“Any attempt at foreign interference in the free and sovereign expression of the Brazilian electorate is repulsive.”

Messias further stated that the AGU’s actions in this case are directly tied to the agency’s responsibility to “ensure the integrity of the country’s democratic institutions.”

The initiative comes following a report published by the British newspaper The Guardian on Wednesday (30th). According to information reproduced by the AGU itself in the documents forwarded to the PF and PGR, the U.S. Department of State reportedly allocated $1 million from the Human Rights and Democracy Fund (HRDF) to the program “Countering Lawfare and Censorship in Brazil.”

According to the report cited in the official communications, the funds were intended for civil society organizations and groups mobilized against what the American program describes as “judicial overreach” and “censorship” attributed to the STF.

The AGU considers that the information raises the necessity to investigate whether foreign public money was directed to networks operating in Brazil to influence the political and institutional environment.

The documents do not identify specific Brazilian individuals, companies, organizations, or parties that have received the resources, nor do they state that the money has already been effectively transferred to beneficiaries in the country. It is precisely this link that the AGU wants the PF and PGR to investigate.

AGU Seeks to Identify Potential Beneficiaries in Brazil

The Attorney General’s Office sent two criminal complaints. Official Communication 07681/2026 was forwarded to the Director-General of the PF, Andrei Rodrigues, while Official Communication 07684/2026 was directed to the Prosecutor General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet. The documents are part of the same proceeding and contain virtually identical content.

The request is explicit: to identify “the eventual recipients of the resources within national territory” and, based on that, evaluate the potential criminal liability of each involved party.

In explaining to ICL Notícias why the AGU decided to prompt the investigative bodies, Messias highlighted the AGU’s institutional assignment in protecting the democratic regime.

“Among the most relevant duties of the AGU is the task of ensuring the integrity of our country’s democratic institutions.”

In the legal arguments sent to the PF and PGR, the AGU recognizes freedom of expression and the right to criticism as guarantees of a Democratic State of Law, but emphasizes that the Constitution also protects national sovereignty and establishes the principles of independence and non-intervention.

The document mentions, as an example of existing barriers against external influence, the prohibition of funding or subordination of political parties to foreign governments or entities. The AGU does not assert that any Brazilian party received the $1 million.

Messias Demands an “Urgent and Rigorous Investigation”

In the most forceful section of the criminal complaint, the AGU states that if the receipt of foreign capital to fund “ordered and systematic” attacks against the sovereignty and functioning of the Justice System institutions is proven, the episode could reveal a “structure of external interference in the internal affairs of the Brazilian State.”

The 2026 electoral process also appears among the reasons cited by the AGU for the gravity of the case. The agency highlights that the country is in an election period and mentions recent episodes of external pressure on Brazilian institutions, including the application of sanctions against national authorities.

It is precisely this potential impact on the elections that Messias highlighted in his statement to ICL Notícias. For the Attorney General of the Union, the allegation involves a suspicion of “foreign funding aimed at destabilizing the electoral process” in Brazil.

“The gravity of the allegation of foreign funding aimed at destabilizing the electoral process in our country justifies an urgent and rigorous investigation.”

Messias’s statement thus brings together the three points used by the AGU to justify its initiative: the rejection of “foreign interference” over the voters' expression, the duty to protect the “integrity of democratic institutions,” and the need for an investigation in light of suspected foreign funding targeted at the electoral process.

The official communications are signed by Jorge Messias; Raphael Ramos Monteiro de Souza, National Prosecutor of the Union for the Defense of Democracy; Rogaciano Bezerra Leite Neto, General Coordinator for the Defense of Democracy; and Socorro Janaína Maximiano Leonardo, Attorney of the Union.

Following the criminal complaints, it will now be up to the PF and PGR to evaluate the measures to identify potential recipients of the money, clarify the allocation of the resources, and verify whether there was any conduct with criminal repercussions.

https://iclnoticias.com.br/governo-aciona-pf-investigar-us-1-milhao-eua/

.