Brazilian ex-President Collor faces house arrest for bribery charges

By Ricardo Brito

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The Brazilian Supreme Court has authorized former Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello to serve house arrest after being sentenced to almost 9 years in prison on corruption and money laundering charges, according to a court order seen by Reuters on Thursday.

Collor was arrested on April 25 in the northeastern city of Maceio after the Supreme Court rejected his challenges against a previous conviction and ordered him to start serving jail time.

The top court sentenced Collor, the first president to win the popular vote after the end of Brazil's last military dictatorship in 1985, to eight years and 10 months in prison in 2023 on corruption and money laundering charges.

According to the order by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, Collor will wear an ankle bracelet while under house arrest.

The 2023 conviction came after Brazilian prosecutors accused Collor of receiving around 30 million reais ($5.28 million) in bribes from a then subsidiary of state-run oil company Petrobras.

Collor took office as president in 1990, but did not finish his term as Congress decided to impeach him two years later amid a separate corruption scandal for which Supreme Court acquitted him in 1994.

He was later elected as a senator representing the state of Alagoas. He left Congress in early 2023 following an unsuccessful bid for governor of Alagoas.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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