Lula

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the current president of Brazil, has faced several major corruption investigations throughout his political career. His first term was marked by the Mensalão vote-buying scandal. Under the Operation Car Wash investigation, Lula was charged with money laundering and passive corruption related to a luxury beachfront apartment in Guarujá. In 2017, he was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison, which was later increased to 12 years and one month by an appellate court, and subsequently reduced to eight years and ten months by the Superior Court of Justice. He served 580 days in prison starting in April 2018. In 2021, the Supreme Federal Court nullified these convictions, ruling that the trial court lacked jurisdiction and that the presiding judge, Sergio Moro, had been biased. This ruling also resulted in the dismissal of all other pending cases against him.