Former federal deputy Carla Zambelli (PL-SP), whose mandate was revoked by decision of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on the 11th and who remains imprisoned in Italy, awaiting the decision of the courts of this European country on Brazil’s extradition request, still has one last outstanding question to resolve in the Chamber of Deputies.
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Contacted by the chronicle team, the Casa press service confirmed that the process opened last July due to the delay in returning his functional apartment during his parliamentary leave remains “under analysis”. If the rules are strictly followed, Zambelli will still owe more than R$7,000 in fines and compensation.
The former deputy left Brazil last May without informing the Chamber, after being sentenced by the first chamber of the Supreme Court to ten years in prison and the loss of her mandate, for her involvement in the invasion of the systems of the National Council of Justice (CNJ), alongside hacker Walter Delgatti Neto. The condemnation was unanimous.
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In early June, she announced that she had fled abroad, while still in the United States. The Minister of the STF, Alexandre de Moraes, then ordered his arrest and contacted Interpol.
In a maneuver supported by House Speaker Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB) and the PL, Zambelli took a leave of absence from his 120-day mandate, which prevented the plenary from voting to uphold or overturn Moraes’ deliberation, which could increase tensions between the powers. According to the establishment’s rules, functional apartments must be returned within 30 days of moving.
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The July 4 deadline was missed. Even with the parliamentarian on the run, the property continued to be occupied by Zambelli’s mother, Rita, and son, João, as the blog reveals. From that date, the then deputy was liable to a fine in the amount of the housing allowance (R$4,253) and compensation of R$283.53 per day of irregular occupation, deducted from the payroll. Their salaries, however, had been blocked by order of the STF.
The imbroglio continued until July 15, when lawyer Fabio Pagnozzi, responsible for Zambelli’s defense, handed over the keys to the property to the Fourth Secretariat of the Chamber.
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Initially, Zambelli’s lawyers argued that the then-parliamentarian learned of the delay through blog posts. They then began trying to exonerate her from the fines by citing alleged improvements she made during her term, but this strategy conflicts with the rules of the House itself.
At the time, the Chamber’s press service informed the blog team that this maneuver would not be possible. “It is not possible to waive the fine for the delay in returning the functional apartment due to improvements made to the property,” the Chamber then declared in a note.
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The apartment is located in a six-story building at 311 Asa Sul – Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered his arrest, lived in a neighboring building at 312 Sul, just 900 meters away.
Only MPs live in the building in large units measuring around 250 square meters. The now former deputy had occupied the unit since March 2021.
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The Chamber has 432 apartments in Brasilia, in addition to 15 other properties classified as technical reserves. When the units were built in the 1970s, the Chamber had 420 parliamentarians – but it currently has 513, a number which will increase to 531 from 2027. For this reason, there is a bottleneck which results in filling a waiting list based on different technical criteria. Anyone not covered is entitled to housing assistance.
In addition to sentencing Zambelli to ten years in prison for invasion of the CNJ system, the First College of the STF also determined the loss of the deputy’s mandate. The order was not automatically accepted by the House board, however.
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In a nod to the opposition, Hugo Motta decided to submit the parliamentarian’s dismissal to the Constitution and Justice Commission (CCJ) of the House, a process which continued throughout the second half of the year.
Motta even promised Supreme Court ministers that the House would approve Zambelli’s loss of office. But on the 10th, a turnaround, the majority of deputies voted against the opinion of the CCJ in favor of the dismissal of the Bolsonarist.
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In response, Alexandre de Moraes decreed the automatic loss of Carla Zambelli’s position the next day, which was unanimously approved by the first college. The Plenary Chamber, however, rejected the Supreme Court’s decision, placing the Speaker of the Chamber in political conflict with the STF. Three days later, Zambelli resigned from his mandate, which practically protected Motta from further erosion of the Court and the opposition itself, as the plenary decision against the Court had lost its effect.
Attention now turns to Zambelli’s extradition, which is scheduled to be judged by the Rome Court of Appeal on January 20, 2026. Brazilian authorities have informed Italy that, if extradited, Zambelli will have to be sent to the Federal District women’s penitentiary, known as Colmeia, far from the comfort she lived in Asa Sul.
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