Gilmar Mendes suspends investigation involving Arthur Lira’s allies

The Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Gilmar Mendes suspended this Thursday (6) the investigation of Operation Hefesto, which investigates alleged crimes of fraud in bidding and money laundering in the purchase of robotics kits for 43 municipalities in Alagoas.

The operation targets allies of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL). The minister accepted a request from the deputy’s defense and saw a possible “violation of the prerogative of the forum”. As a result, the Federal Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office cannot proceed with the investigation until the Second Panel of the Court analyzes the request by Lira’s lawyers to annul the entire case. The preliminary decision is under judicial secrecy, reported the portal. jot.

The parliamentarian’s defense argues that the investigation was irregular because it aimed to investigate Lira’s alleged involvement in the facts. As a parliamentarian, Lira is entitled to a privileged forum and the case should be conducted by the Supreme Court.

This Wednesday (5), substitute federal judge Roney Raimundo Leão Otilio, from the 2nd Federal Court of Alagoas, sent the case files of the operation to the STF. In the dispatch, the magistrate stated that the Federal Police identified a possible connection between Lira and the crimes.