A Brazilian judge has provisionally suspended criminal proceedings against Samarco, Vale, BHP Billiton, VogBR, as well as 22 other people as a result of the Mariana disaster, which killed 19 people in November 2015 and halted output at local pellet producer Samarco.
Samarco’s then director president, Ricardo Vescovi, as well as Kleber Terra, the company’s director of operations, have requested the annulment of the lawsuit, alleging the wiretaps used by federal prosecutors to accuse the involved parties were not obtained during the specific time period approved by a Brazilian court.
The judge argued Samarco sent non-requested chat messages and emails during the lawsuit, which were used by prosecutors.
Samarco was requested by a court to provide phone data and emails between October 10, 2015 and November 30, 2015, but instead, it also sent data for the years of 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
By using the non-requested data, prosecutors disrespected the company’s privacy, the judge said.