**Abstract**

Although it has emerged, nationally and internationally, as one of the largest investigations against political corruption, Operation Car Wash—at its peak of popular prestige—cleared the path for the political rise of Jair Bolsonaro to the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil. And by doing so, to a certain extent, it paved the way for a set of arbitrary practices that today threaten and weaken the main Brazilian democratic institutions. Brazilian democracy today pays a high price for the Judiciary's lethargic and condescending response to the unorthodox and illegal practices of Federal Judge Sérgio Moro during the golden years of Operation Car Wash (2014–2018). The lesson that the Brazilian episode brings to the international legal community is that the constant disrespect for the rules of due criminal procedure in large cases of corruption erodes the institutional bases that support the proper confrontation of this type of crime. The pertinent fight against corruption in a democracy can only take place in strict obedience to the law.

**Keywords:** corruption, rule of law, due process of law, lawfare, judicial impartiality
