巴西反腐敗博弈走向深入

Brazilian film-makers last week released Federal Police — No One Is Above the Law, a silver screen celebration of Lava Jato or Car Wash, the landmark corruption investigation that has threatened to overturn the country’s entire political establishment.

上週，巴西製片人推出了新片《聯邦警察——無人能凌駕於法律之上》(Federal Police — No One Is Above the Law)。這部電影爲“洗車行動”(Lava Jato)喝彩——該行動是里程碑式的反腐調查，可能會把巴西整個政壇高層拉下馬。

The film soups up reality with Hollywood-style car chases and gun slinging. But the real investigation, which started with a probe into kickbacks at state-owned oil company Petrobras, is proving yet again that fact is often stranger than fiction.

影片對真實事件作了添油加醋，加入了好萊塢式的飛車追逐和槍戰。但真正的調查（從調查國有的巴西國家石油公司(Petrobras)的回扣行爲開始）再次證明，現實往往比小說更不可思議。

Even as the film was being released, federal police revealed they had found the country`s biggest hoard of criminal cash in an apartment in Salvador, northeastern Brazil — R$51m allegedly belonging to Geddel Vieira Lima, a former minister of President Michel Temer’s government.

就在這部影片放映之際，聯邦警察透露，他們在巴西東北部薩爾瓦多一間公寓內發現了巴西金額最大的一筆贓款——總額5100萬雷亞爾，據稱這筆錢屬於曾在巴西總統米歇爾?特梅爾(Michel Temer)政府任職的前部長熱德爾?維埃拉?利馬(Geddel Vieira Lima)。

Then on the weekend, businessman-turned-state witness Joesley Batista, the former chairman of meatpacker JBS, was arrested on suspicion he had secretly hired one of the investigators in Lava Jato to advise him on his plea bargain in a bribery scandal.

上週末，污點證人、肉類加工商JBS前董事長喬斯利?巴蒂斯塔(Joesley Batista)被逮捕，罪名是他涉嫌祕密收買“洗車行動”的一名調查員，爲他在一場賄賂醜聞中的辯訴交易提供諮詢。

The developments come at a delicate moment for the Car Wash investigation, with one of its key proponents, prosecutor-general Rodrigo Janot, the head of the country’s independent public prosecutors’ office, due to end his term next week.

現在正處於“洗車行動”調查的微妙時期——該行動的關鍵支持者之一、巴西獨立檢察官辦公室負責人、總檢察長羅德里戈?雅諾(Rodrigo Janot)將於下週結束任期。

More than three years after Car Wash began in April 2014, Brazil’s biggest corruption investigation and its offshoots continue to produce spectacular findings, from Mr Vieira Lima’s alleged treasure to a scandal in May over a taped conversation in which President Temer allegedly discussed bribes with Mr Batista of JBS.

巴西最大規模的反腐調查“洗車行動”於2014年4月啓動，如今已持續3年多，有關方面順藤摸瓜，仍在不斷挖掘出重大發現——從利馬涉嫌藏匿鉅額現金、到5月曝光的據稱是特梅爾總統與JBS的巴蒂斯塔討論賄賂的談話錄音。

But as its success has grown in tackling Brazil’s centuries-old tradition of impunity for the rich and powerful, so have the attacks on Car Wash become more emphatic from a political class that is fighting for its survival, analysts say. The growing power of the independent police, prosecutors and judges has also sparked criticism of over-reach.

但分析人士表示，此次行動在對付巴西數世紀以來“刑不上權貴”這個“傳統”上不斷取得成功的同時，也招致爲了生存而戰的政治階層的越來越高調的反彈。還有人批評稱，獨立的警方、檢方和法官的權力越來越大，有越權執法之嫌。

“We have a thing right now in which the population doesn’t trust political parties, business executives, the judiciary, the supreme court, and now the public prosecutors’ office,” said Rubens Glezer, a professor at FGV Direito SP, a law school.

“我們現在的問題是民衆不信任政黨、企業高管、司法制度、最高法庭，如今連檢察官辦公室都不信任了，”法學院FGV Direito SP教授魯本斯?格列澤羅夫(Rubens Glezer)表示。

Mr Janot, who was appointed prosecutor-general four years ago, has sought to go out with a bang. This past week he indicted former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and for the first time his successor Dilma Rousseff and senior ministers and officials of their leftist Workers’ party for running a “criminal organisation” during their more than 13 years in power between 2002 and 2016. Mr Janot followed up the case with similar accusations against leaders of Mr Temer`s Brazilian Democratic Movement Party. All the accused have issued angry denials.

4年前被任命爲總檢察長的雅諾試圖轟轟烈烈地離任。過去一週，他起訴了巴西前總統路易斯?伊納西奧?盧拉?達席爾瓦(Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva)，並且首次起訴盧拉的繼任者迪爾瑪?羅塞夫(Dilma Rousseff)及其左翼勞工黨(Workers’ party)的高級部長和官員在2002至2016年超過13年的執政期間執掌一個“犯罪組織”。隨後，雅諾又對特梅爾的巴西民主運動黨(Brazilian Democratic Movement Party)的主要領導人提起類似刑事指控。所有面臨指控的官員都憤怒地進行了否認。

Mr Janot’s other landmark case has been to try to bring Mr Temer to trial for corruption in the Supreme Court over the discussion with Mr Batista of JBS. The businessman secretly taped the conversation before presenting it to the public prosecutors’ office in exchange for a plea bargain.

雅諾另一個里程碑式的案件是，根據特梅爾與JBS的巴蒂斯塔討論的內容，試圖讓最高法院對特梅爾涉嫌腐敗案進行審理。巴蒂斯塔祕密錄下了與特梅爾的談話內容，然後把錄音交給了檢察官辦公室，作爲辯訴交易中的籌碼。

But this case has threatened to implode after a new tape emerged this month, this time allegedly of Mr Batista himself talking to a fellow JBS executive. The pair discuss secretly receiving help from a then public prosecutor, Marcelo Miller, to negotiate their plea bargain. Mr Miller denies the allegations. But Mr Batista and the executive, Ricardo Saud, were placed under temporary arrest at the weekend pending an investigation.

但在本月出現新錄音後，該案可能會內爆。這一次的錄音據稱是巴蒂斯塔本人同一名JBS高管的談話，二人祕密討論了從當時的檢察官馬塞洛?米勒(Marcelo Miller)獲取幫助，以談判他們的辯訴交易。米勒否認了相關指控。但巴蒂斯塔和那名高管——裏卡多?紹德(Ricardo Saud)——週末被臨時逮捕，以待調查。

Public anger over the Batista plea bargain, in which Joesley and his brother Wesley, the chief executive of JBS, were exempted from any jail time, was already high before the controversy over the alleged conflict of interest involving Mr Miller. Analysts said the affair threatened to weaken the popularity of the prosecutors with the public.

即使在據稱涉及米勒的利益衝突引發爭議之前，公衆已經對巴蒂斯塔的辯訴交易——其中喬斯利及其兄弟、JBS首席執行官韋斯利被免除任何監禁——感到憤怒。分析人士表示，最新事件可能會削弱公衆對檢方的支持度。

Others have criticised the way Brazil’s criminal justice system operates. Geoffrey Robertson QC, an international human rights lawyer who is representing Mr Lula da Silva, said Sérgio Moro, the lead magistrate in the cases against the former president, acted as both the “investigating judge”, authorising wire taps and gathering of evidence, and trial judge. This was a conflict of interest, he said.

還有一些人批評了巴西刑事司法系統的運作方式。代表盧拉的國際人權律師傑弗裏?羅伯遜(Geoffrey Robertson QC)稱，塞爾吉奧?莫羅(Sérgio Moro)——前總統案件中的主審法官——既擔任授權竊聽和取證的“調查法官”，又是主審法官。他稱，這其中存在利益衝突。

Judge Moro sentenced the former president to nearly 10 years jail in July.

7月，莫羅法官判處盧拉有期徒刑近10年。

“It’s a primitive system,” said Mr Robertson.

羅伯遜稱，“這種司法系統是原始的。”

Critics point to other alleged flaws such as the holding of suspects under preventive arrest without charges for indefinite periods and the risk that criminals might begin to “fabricate” plea bargains by entrapping others to escape jail.

批評者指出了其他一些據稱存在的缺陷，比如動用“預防性逮捕”權力，在沒有提出刑事罪名的情況下無限期羈押嫌疑人；同時還有一個風險：犯罪人可能開始編造故事換取辯訴交易，爲了自己不至於入獄而陷害他人。

These are challenges for Mr Janot’s successor, Rachel Dodge, to deal with, analysts say. A career public prosecutor, she was appointed by Mr Temer after coming second in an internal election conducted by the public prosecutors’ association. This was a break with tradition — normally the president chooses the winner of the election.

分析人士稱，這些都是雅諾的繼任者雷切爾?道奇(Rachel Dodge)需要對付的挑戰。道奇是一名職業檢察官，她在檢察官協會進行的內部選舉中排名第二，隨後被特梅爾任命。此舉打破了傳統，正常情況下總統會選擇選舉的勝者出任總檢察長。

But while analysts predict she will try to adopt a more sober approach than the high-profile Mr Janot, they say Car Wash will continue with force.

不過，儘管分析人士預測，道奇將比高調行事的雅諾更加剋制冷靜，但他們認爲“洗車行動”將繼續深入。

“There’s a myth in Brazil that Lava Jato is at risk — it was never at risk,” said Fernando Schüler, political analyst at Insper, a business university. “You can’t block investigations in Brazil for a simple reason — the Ministério Público [public prosecutors’ office] and the federal police are independent. The big question, however, is as to whether the investigations are being done properly.”

“巴西有人傳言稱，‘洗車行動’危在旦夕——這永遠不可能發生，”Insper商學院的政治分析師費爾南多?舒勒(Fernando Schüler)表示，“在巴西，你無法用簡單的理由阻止調查——檢察官辦公室(Ministério Público)和聯邦警察是獨立機構。然而，主要問題是調查方式是否恰當。”

The inquiry also remains the one institution that Brazilians still overwhelmingly support, with 95 per cent of respondents in a recent Ipsos poll backing the probe.

此次調查仍然擁有巴西人壓倒性的支持，最近的益普索(Ipsos)民調顯示，95%的受訪者支持此次調查。

“This investigative drive will continue, this is the new normal in a way,” said Jo?o Augusto de Castro Neves of Eurasia Group.

“調查會繼續，在某種程度上這是新常態，”歐亞集團(Eurasia Group)的若昂?奧古斯托?德卡斯特羅?內維斯(Jo?o Augusto de Castro Neves)表示。