Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) has annulled all criminal proceedings against former Rio de Janeiro Civil Police Secretary Allan Turnowski, ruling that the case had been handled by an incompetent court.
The decision, taken by majority vote in the Court’s Second Panel, suspends all acts carried out by the lower criminal court and transfers jurisdiction to the Special Body of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice (TJRJ).
Turnowski had been charged with criminal organization and involvement with operators of jogo do bicho, a long-standing illegal numbers lottery in Brazil historically linked to organized crime groups and corruption networks, particularly in Rio de Janeiro.
The case had been processed by the First Criminal Court for Organized Crime, which the Supreme Court has now deemed to lack jurisdiction.
The ruling was based on the constitutional principle of symmetry.
Although the Federal Constitution does not explicitly grant state secretaries special jurisdiction, the Court has interpreted that, by analogy with federal ministers who are tried before the STF, state secretaries should be judged by the highest court of their respective state. As a result, the case must now be reviewed from the outset by the TJRJ.
Turnowski was first arrested in 2022 after leaving his post to run for federal deputy. Since then, he has faced multiple arrests and releases and has been free since August 2025.
In parallel, other cases involving suspected police corruption linked to unlawful betting activities remain under investigation in Rio de Janeiro.
Jogo do bicho is a Brazilian illegal numbers lottery that has long been associated with organized crime networks and corruption cases, particularly in Rio de Janeiro
