Eduardo Cunha

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Consentino and the second or paternal family name is Cunha.
Eduardo Cunha
President of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
1 February 2015 – 7 July 2016
Suspended: 5 May 2016 – 7 July 2016[1]
Preceded byHenrique Eduardo Alves
Succeeded byRodrigo Maia
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
1 February 2003 – 12 September 2016
Suspended: 5 May 2016 – 12 September 2016[1][2]
ConstituencyRio de Janeiro
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro
In office
9 January 2001 – 1 February 2003
ConstituencyAt-large
Personal details
Born
Eduardo Cosentino da Cunha

(1958-09-29) 29 September 1958 (age 66)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Political partyIndependent (2023–present)
Other political
affiliations
  • PRN (1989–1995)
  • PPB (1995–2003)
  • MDB (2003–2022)
  • PTB (2022–2023)
Spouses
Cristina Bastos Dytz
​
​
(m. 1987; div. 1994)​
​
(m. 1996)​
Children4
Alma materCandido Mendes University
Criminal information
Known for
Criminal statusHouse arrest (temporarily)[a]
Conviction(s)
  • Passive corruption
  • Money laundry
  • Foreign exchange fraud
  • Process corruption
Criminal penalty
  • 14 years and 6 months for passive corruption, money laundry and foreign exchange fraud
  • 24 years and 10 months for process corruption

Eduardo Cosentino da Cunha (born 29 September 1958), is a Brazilian politician and radio host, born in Rio de Janeiro. He was President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil from February 2015 until 5 May 2016, when he was removed from the position by the Supreme Court. BBC News labeled him the "nemesis" of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.[4]

He was indicted in the scandal known as Operation Car Wash (Portuguese: Operação Lava Jato) involving the state-owned oil company Petrobras and other corporations.[5] Cunha was suspended as speaker of the Chamber of Deputies by the Supreme Court on the request of the Prosecutor-General due to allegations that he had attempted to intimidate members of Congress and obstructed investigations into his alleged bribe-taking.[6][7][8] Cunha resigned from his position later, on 7 July 2016, after a disciplinary process in Congress that had lasted nine months, making it the longest in Brazilian Congressional history.[9]

A series of legal manoeuvres had stalled the process and kept Cunha in charge of the Chamber of Deputies. While the Chamber's Commission of Ethics was divided on the issue until June, the Chamber of Deputies plenary, on 12 September 2016, voted 450–10 in favour of stripping Cunha of his position as federal deputy for breaching parliamentary decorum by lying about secret offshore bank accounts.[10]

On 19 October 2016, Cunha was arrested by the Brazilian Federal Police,[11] accused of hiding approximately US$40 million worth of bribes in secret bank accounts[12] and on trying to tamper with investigations against him.[13]

  1. ^ a b Watts, Jonathan (5 May 2016). "Speaker of Brazil's lower house Eduardo Cunha suspended". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  2. ^ "Brazil's ex-Speaker Cunha expelled from Congress over Swiss bank accounts". BBC. 13 September 2016. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Justiça manda Eduardo Cunha para prisão domiciliar por risco de coronavírus" [Justice sends Eduardo Cunha to home arrest due to coronavirus risk] (in Portuguese). UOL. 26 March 2020. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  4. ^ Davies, Wyre (17 August 2015). "Rousseff's woes worsen as Brazil's protesters smell blood". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  5. ^ Romero, Simon (21 August 2015). "Expanding Web of Scandal in Brazil Threatens Further Upheaval". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 January 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  6. ^ Falcão, Márcio (5 May 2016). "Teori afasta Eduardo Cunha do mandato na Câmara". Folha de S.Paulo. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  7. ^ Watts, Jonathan (5 May 2016). "Speaker of Brazil's lower house Eduardo Cunha suspended". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  8. ^ De Carvalho, Jailton; Bresciani, Eduardo (23 October 2016). "Cunha explicou suposta venda de casa para traficante". O Globo. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  9. ^ Amorim, Filipe (14 June 2016). "O que levou o processo de Cunha a ser o mais longo do Conselho de Ética?". UOL. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ Romero, Simon (13 September 2016). "Brazil's Congress Expels Lawmaker Who Led Ouster of President". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  11. ^ Jelmayer, Rogerio; Dickerson, Marla; Jelmayer, Rogerio (19 October 2016). "Brazil's former House speaker Eduardo Cunha arrested in corruption investigation". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Brazil arrests top lawmaker behind impeachment of former president Rousseff: Police". The Straits Times. AFP. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  13. ^ "In 3 months, Brazil loses President and both congressional leaders". plus55. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2017.


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