Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) ordered on Monday (21) the opening of an action to investigate financial operations with the possible use of privileged information. Suspected movements occurred on July 9, the same day of the 50% rate on Brazilian products by US President Donald Trump.
In the document, Moraes cites a petition of the Union Attorney General (AGU) that pointed to indications that atypical transactions and significant volume of dollars would have been carried out hours before the official announcement. According to AGU, currency movements may suggest that investors had prior and improper access to sensitive information about the tariff – which characterizes crime. The Attorney General’s Office will be called in to start investigating the case.
On July 9, the dollar quotation jumped from $ 5.46 to $ 5.60 shortly after the publication of the letter announcing the tariffs against Brazil. However, a few hours earlier, a financial agent bought between $ 3 billion and $ 4 billion. This concentrated and above average value was sold by the new quotation on the same day, generating a profit that may have reached 50% of the amount invested.
