Moraes Orders Confidential Probe of Findings From Wassef’s Phone

Overview

• Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes signed the order on June 30 to open a separate, sealed investigation into “eventos fortuitos” found on attorney Frederick Wassef’s cellphone.
• The probe responds to a March request by the Polícia Federal that flagged material on Wassef’s devices and urged a distinct inquiry into possible crimes.
• Prosecutor‑General Paulo Gonet had earlier asked to archive the main joias sauditas investigation on the grounds that no law clearly makes presidential foreign gifts public property and therefore peculato charges were unfeasible.
• Wassef and the Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil say the August 2023 search that seized his phones violated attorney prerogatives and is therefore null, and Wassef denies any wrongdoing while arguing the three‑year lapse undermines the findings’ relevance.
• The order separates the new material from the main case and keeps the file secret so public developments now hinge on the PGR’s formal response and on likely legal fights over evidence admissibility and lawyer protections.