Mendes noted on social media that Moro, of the “Lava Jato” (Car Wash) anti-corruption operation, acted along with then-coordinator of the investigation force, former prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, to remove Lula from that year’s presidential race.

Mendes wrote, “The verdict in the ‘triplex’ case was not overturned due to mere procedural details. Sergio Moro was found to be biased in light of strong evidence that, in collusion with the then-head of the task force, he manipulated the justice system to exclude the current President of the Republic from the 2018 electoral contest.”

The high-court justice’s remarks responded to recent claims by Moro, who argued that the annulment of the convictions against Lula, handed down during the Lava Jato investigation, was based solely on “formal grounds.”

The controversy intensified after the judiciary ordered the return of 2.42 million reais (about 428 million dollars) to the OAS construction firm for the sale of a triplex apartment in Guaruja, Sao Paulo, a property Lava Jato investigators had previously attributed to Lula.

The judicial ruling admitted that the property belonged to the construction company and ordered that the proceeds from the sale be returned to the firm.

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