Judge suspends arrest order of a top Brazilian country music star amid money laundering probe

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian judge Tuesday suspended the preventive arrest of one of the country’s most popular country music stars in connection with a money laundering investigation, a court source with access to the ruling told The Associated Press.

A court staffer in the state of Pernambuco confirmed that local Judge Eduardo Guilliod Maranhão issued a writ of habeas corpus to keep singer Gusttavo Lima out of jail in connection with the case. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the case, which is still sealed.

Another judge in Pernambuco state had ordered the singer’s arrest for allegedly facilitating the escape of two people under investigation in the probe, which has already resulted in orders to arrest almost two dozen others.

The judge who ordered Lima’s arrest, Andrea Calada de Cruz, wrote in her ruling that she was calling on Interpol to issue a red alert to apprehend four people still at large, noting that two of them traveled to Europe with Lima earlier this month and remained there.

Lima’s attorneys said in a statement that the singer welcomed the habeas corpus granted on Tuesday. They said he believes the previous decision “established a series of assumptions” to seek his arrest.

Lima has 13 million monthly listeners on Spotify, 45 million followers on Instagram and 20 million on YouTube.

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Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press