Alcolumbre substitute wins works worth R$ 350 million under Lula – 01/16/2024 – Power

Company that belongs to Breno Chaves Pinto (União Brasil-AP), second deputy to senator Davi Alcolumbre (União Brasil-AP), signed contracts, at the end of 2023 and beginning of 2024, for works worth R$ 354.5 million with funds federal government under the Lula (PT) government.

LB Construções was selected for the R$268 million project by Dnit (National Department of Transport Infrastructure), in a consortium with another company. The construction company also won three bids from Codevasf, a federal state company controlled by an ally of the senator, totaling R$86.5 million.

In a note, Alcolumbre said that it is the government’s responsibility to contract and execute public contracts and agreements, including those that use funds from its amendments.

“It is the sole and exclusive responsibility of the Executive Branch, responsible for the technical and merit analyzes of the proposals presented in the respective bidding processes, which must follow the established legal standards and criteria, with broad publicity and transparency”, stated the senator.

On social media, Alcolumbre celebrated, in August, the release of Dnit funds for works in Amapá. “My thanks to President Lula for the opportunity to release significant resources for us to carry out this very important work for the state of Amapá”, said the senator after the body’s council approved the notices.

In a note published in November, the senator also celebrated values ​​obtained by Codevasf, “articulated by himself”, to pave roads in Amapá.

The service contracted by Dnit is to improve and update the pavement of a lot on BR-156. Codevasf’s works involve concrete block paving and asphalt in several municipalities in the state.

The newspaper O Globo showed that Breno Chaves Pinto’s other company, Rio Pedreira, was hired in 2022 to execute an agreement between the Government of Amapá and Codevasf. The R$100 million service was announced by the then state governor, Waldez Góes, current minister of Regional Development, and uses amendment funds from Alcolumbre.

Because of contracts with this company, Rio Pedreira, Breno was one of the targets of search and seizure by the Federal Police in Operation Candidus 2, in December 2022. The investigators stated, in a representation delivered to the Court, that there were “indications of overpricing” in the execution of the contract with Dnit.

The road mentioned in the PF investigation is the same one on which the company LB must now carry out work under the new contract with Dnit.

Alcolumbre’s substitute said that “he doesn’t weigh against the same [a empresa Rio Pedreira] any indication or mere mention of overpricing in the execution or in the contract referring to the section for which it was contracted”.

The PF also found around R$740,000 distributed in Breno’s closet, drawer and backpack during the search and seizure. The businessman said that the amount seized has already been returned and originated from a bank loan.

Investigators raised suspicions that Breno’s company committed fraud in the purchase and sale of wood by inserting false data into the Ibama system. The alternate senator stated that, in this case, he was the victim of a company subcontracted for bridge renovations.

Breno participated in the Senate ticket headed by Alcolumbre in 2022. He had not previously contested elections.

“It is clear that there was no political influence in the tenders carried out via electronic auction, making it possible to publicly verify the legitimacy of the disputes with such relevant discounts on these public works”, stated Alcolumbre’s deputy.

Former president of the Senate, Alcolumbre is the godfather of the appointment of three ministers in the Lula government. He is also influential in the control and distribution of amendments and, as president of the Senate’s CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission), he was a key player in the Lula government’s coordination to approve the appointment of Flávio Dino to the STF (Supreme Federal Court) in the last month.

The senator was also one of the defenders of engineer Marcelo Moreira remaining as president of Codevasf, a body controlled by the center and which has been in the spotlight since the Bolsonaro administration due to suspicions of misappropriation of funds precisely in paving works.

In a statement, Codevasf said that the works will be carried out with resources from the General Budget of the Union. “They are associated with discretionary expenses of the federal government.” Codevasf’s funding, however, was boosted during the year in coordination with the center, even though the new resources were not necessarily directed to parliamentary amendments.

The state-owned company also said that it holds auctions through the federal government’s Comprasnet system, which “does not allow the identification of participating companies until the end of the bidding stage.”

“Relationships that may exist between partners of companies participating in auctions and third parties are unknown and do not form part of the list of classification or declassification criteria. Codevasf’s contracts are formalized with legal entities”, the state-owned company also said.

In a statement, the Dnit said that it follows the legislation related to public procurement and that “it is not the body responsible for prohibiting or allowing the participation of companies or individuals in tenders, and it is not up to the local authority to investigate any ongoing investigations”.

“The decision on the non-eligibility of participants is a prerogative of the competent authorities, such as regulatory bodies and legal entities. The Dnit acts in accordance with current regulations, ensuring fairness and transparency in bidding processes, but does not have the power to veto the participation of companies or people, who are not formally prevented from participating in the bidding processes”, said the body.