STF Minister Cristiano Zanin Seeks Accountability After Deltan Dallagnol Files Secret Tax Data in Court

Supreme Court Minister Cristiano Zanin has requested that the Electoral Court of Paraná hold those responsible for the public exposure of his confidential tax and bank records. The documents were attached to the Senate candidacy registration of former prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol. The information was originally obtained in 2019 during Operation Lava Jato while Zanin was acting as a lawyer for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; those records were later annulled by the court.

Dallagnol's legal team stated that the documents were part of a larger disciplinary complaint filed by Zanin against the former prosecutor. They argued that the files were submitted in full to avoid omitting information relevant to Dallagnol's eligibility and to contest attempts to impugn his candidacy. The defense denied any intention to expose the minister's personal data.

In response to the filing, the President of the Regional Electoral Court of Paraná (TRE-PR), Judge Luciano Carrasco Falavinha Souza, ordered the documents to be sealed and gave Dallagnol 24 hours to explain the exposure. The TRE-PR also referred the matter to the Public Prosecutor's Office to investigate the leak of confidential third party data. The court noted that lawyers are responsible for marking documents as confidential when uploading them to the electronic system.

Outlets with a center-right lean emphasized the defense's argument that the documents were necessary to prove the candidate's eligibility. In contrast, the center-leaning outlet provided additional context regarding Dallagnol's previous cassation by the TSE and the specific nature of the broken secrecy involving the Fecomércio-RJ case.