A landmark trial resulted in the prosecution of three individuals, managers of the mining company at the time of the events, and of Samarco, the company responsible for the Fundão dam that collapsed in 2015. On the afternoon of September 3rd, in Belo Horizonte (MG), the following took place […]Published by: Renata Regina | September 4, 2026
Family members and those affected at the entrance of the TRF6 (Regional Federal Court of the 6th Region) – Photo: Renata Regina / Instituto Cordillera
The landmark trial resulted in the prosecution of three individuals, managers of the mining company at the time of the events, and of Samarco, the company responsible for the Fundão dam that collapsed in 2015.
On the afternoon of September 3rd, in Belo Horizonte (MG), the trial session took place for the criminal case of those involved in the collapse of the Fundão dam in Mariana.
The 2nd Panel of the TRF-6 (Regional Federal Court of the 6th Region) unanimously decided to convict Germano Silva Lopes, Wagner Milagres Alves, Daviély Rodrigues Silva, and the legal entity Samarco Mineração S/A. For the other defendants, the decision of the first-instance Federal Court, which had determined their acquittal, was upheld.
Samarco was sentenced to a 10-year ban on contracting with the Public Sector and ordered to pay R$1 million to the National Environmental Fund during the sentence enforcement phase. The mining company was also ordered to pay 768 daily fines, each equivalent to five minimum wages, or approximately R$6.2 million.
Engineers Germano Silva Lopes and Daviély Rodrigues Silva, who were operational managers, were sentenced to 8 years and 9 months in prison, in a closed regime. Wagner Milagres Alves was sentenced to 7 years, 3 months and 15 days in prison, in a semi-open regime. He held the same position as the other two convicts, but, according to the judges, had a lesser role in the crimes.
“We broke the cycle of impunity. By recognizing that Samarco and three of its managers knew the risk, ignored warnings, and chose omission, the Judiciary finally confirmed that it was not an accident. Even though the managers were spared, we hope that this decision will generate a real change in behavior and prompt an urgent review of the contracts that the condemned company maintains with the public authorities,” summarizes lawyer Danilo Chammas.
An appeal is still possible, both by the defense and the prosecution. Leaving the court, the Federal Public Prosecutor, Darlan Airton Dias, emphasized that the institution will study the decision in detail to understand why the companies Vale, BHP Billiton, and VogBR were acquired. He also highlighted the importance of the decision, so many years after the crime that took 19 lives (family members count 20, as one woman was pregnant), contaminated the entire Rio Doce Basin, and continues to have social and environmental repercussions to this day.
“Today is a historic, symbolic moment that shows that a series of negligent acts, of criminal acts, that caused so much pain, death, and unprecedented environmental damage in the history of Brazil, cannot be forgotten; there must be a response. And today, the Brazilian Justice system gave a response, still a provisional response, but an important one,” the Prosecutor emphasized.
Popular pressure
More than 100 people affected by the dam collapse attended the session and gathered at the end to celebrate what they considered a victory, albeit a partial one.
Mônica dos Santos, who lost her home and much of her history on November 5, 2015, was one of the victims who sought out the lawyers from the Cordilheira Institute – who are already assisting the prosecution in the Brumadinho criminal trial – to try to overturn the sentence that had acquired all the defendants.
Monica Santos in front of the TRF6 – Photo: Renata Regina
“Today is indeed a moment of glory, a moment of joy, a moment to look at the justice system of our country and begin to believe in it again. Because until today, before these votes, Brazilian justice was inert, it was falling short, it was letting the company do whatever it wanted. We know this is just a starting point, but it’s a start that’s already a relief. We know they will appeal, but we are prepared. If it’s necessary to go to Brasília, if it’s necessary to go to another country, if it’s necessary to go wherever to seek this justice that we so desperately need, we will go,” said Mônica, emotionally, at the courthouse door, alongside other victims. “Unfortunately, if what is happening here today had happened back in 2015, when the dam broke, Brumadinho certainly wouldn’t have broken, and 172 lives could have been saved,” she recalled.
History
Danilo Chammas at the trial on September 3rd – Photo Kailan Lima/TRF6
This was a continuation of the session that began on March 11, when the judges began the trial of two appeals, one from the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and the other from the victims, who are acting as assistant prosecutors. The appeals questioned the acquittal of 10 remaining defendants (the case began with 26 defendants), following the decision of the federal judge of Ponte Nova, Patrícia Alencar Teixeira de Carvalho, who in November 2024 acquitted the defendants of all charges .
Oral arguments were presented by the prosecution, first by the Federal Public Prosecutor, Darlan Airton Dias, followed by the lawyer for the victims, who are acting as assistant prosecutors in the case, Danilo Chammas, from the Cordilheira Institute. Both reiterated the arguments for the prosecution and remembered the victims, their families, and all those affected.
Next, the lawyers for the legal entities BHP Billiton, Vale, VogBR (which also defended the company’s engineer), and Samarco spoke. The representatives of the accused companies’ defense argued that there were flaws in the accusation by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and defended the innocence of the institutions in relation to the dam rupture.
Next, the floor was opened to the lawyers representing the individuals. After the arguments, the case rapporteur, Federal Judge Michael Procópio Ribeiro Alves Avelar, read a summary of his vote, explaining the reasons for the decision, followed by the other judges, Luciana Pinheiro Costa and Klaus Kuschel. At the end of the session, residents of Bento Rodrigues, relatives of the deceased victims, members of the Quilombola community of Gesteira and other affected localities celebrated this unprecedented criminal conviction, which is a milestone in the fight against impunity for mining crimes.
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