Sergio Moro

Sérgio Fernando Moro is a Brazilian federal judge who has gained national fame for commanding the prosecution of the crimes identified in the investigation nicknamed Operação Lava Jato (Operation Car Wash, in English), a case of high-profile scandals of corruption and bribery involving government officials and business executives.

Sérgio Moro earned his bachelors of law degree at Maringa State University in 1995, and became a federal judge in 1996. He also studied abroad through an exchange program at Harvard Law School in 1998. He earned a doctorate at the Federal University of Paraná in 2002. Currently, he is an adjunct law professor there and acts as a federal judge in high-profile cases--including Operation Carwash. In 2007, he participated in the United States Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program in which he visited U.S. agencies and institutions responsible for preventing and combating money laundering.

Besides working on Operation Carwash, he also coordinated the criminal case dubbed "Banestado," which resulted in the prosecution of 97 individuals, and Operation "Farol da Colina" -- in which he decreed the preventive arrest of 103 suspects for committing money laundering, tax evasion and other crimes. Among the arrested was Alberto Youssef, also accused in the Carwash case. He participated on the judicial team prosecuting the Mensalão scandal as well.