Judge sends to the STF case of robotics kits purchased by Arthur Lira’s allies

The substitute federal judge Roney Raimundo Leão Otilio forwarded to the Federal Supreme Court (STF), this Wednesday (5), the process that investigates a fraud scheme in the purchase of robotics kits in Alagoas by allies of the President of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL). In the dispatch, the magistrate states that the police investigation identified a possible link between the parliamentarian and the crimes.

Among the evidence collected that point to this relationship, there are three documents that cite Lira and his former advisor, Luciano Ferreira Cavalcante, and a manuscript with notes of possible expenses for the deputy, family members and “people of his relationship” (see in full).

“Therefore, considering art. 102, I, b, of the Federal Constitution, it is incumbent upon the Federal Supreme Court to judge criminal offenses committed by members of the National Congress. If there are indications of participation in the crimes now being investigated by a congressman, the competence of this 1st degree judgment ends”, wrote Otilio in the dispatch due to the privileged jurisdiction of Lira.

The magistrate also stated that the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) itself asked to act in the case. “The MPF ratified the Representation, requesting the referral of the entire investigation to the Supreme Court”, he added. Lira’s advisory stated that the parliamentarian will not comment on the decision.

Investigations point out that Lira would have been the author of the rapporteur’s amendments that released R$ 32.9 million for the purchase of overpriced robotics kits for municipalities in Alagoas.

The resources would have been allocated to the project in the state between 2019 and 2022 through the RP9, which became known as the “secret budget” and had no indication of destination. The contracts for the purchase of kits gave rise to an operation launched last week by the PF that discovered fraud in the bids and seized R$ 4.4 million in cash in reais and dollars in Maceió.

BRL 32.9 million were pledged to the National Education Development Fund (FNDE), of which the government released BRL 29.7 million for payment. At least R$ 17 million would have already been paid, with the remainder awaiting settlement. The Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) determined the annulment of all contracts that have not yet been finalized.

The scheme allegedly intended the bidding for a specific company, Megalic Ltda., which purchased the equipment from a supplier located in São Paulo and allocated the money paid by city halls to various bank accounts on behalf of operators who made withdrawals and delivered them to those investigated. .

After the PF operation, Lira sought to distance herself from any irregularity and stated that there are judicial decisions that deny the overpricing of the kits. He, however, did not comment on the amendments.