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2mo ago

Federal Court Opens Hearings in Brumadinho Dam Collapse Case

The months-long evidentiary phase will determine if the case advances to a jury on homicide charges under the theory of dolo eventual.

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Overview

  • Sessions began on Feb. 23 at the 6th Regional Federal Court in Belo Horizonte, with 76 hearing days scheduled through May 17, 2027.
  • Roughly 51 witnesses, including families, survivors and experts, will testify before defendants are questioned at the end of the instruction phase.
  • Prosecutors accuse Vale, TÜV SÜD and former executives of homicide with alleged conscious disregard for risk, while defenses call the rupture unforeseeable and cite a FUGRO survey as the trigger.
  • Ex-Vale chief executive Fábio Schvartsman remains excluded by a TRF6 ruling, a decision under review at the Superior Court of Justice.
  • The 2019 failure released about 12 million cubic meters of tailings, killed 272 people and contaminated the Paraopeba River, defining the scale of potential criminal accountability.