Links of Arthur Lira in investigation of the robotics kit; understand – 06/26/2023 – Power

The Federal Police sent the investigation into alleged deviations in robotics kit contracts to the STF (Federal Supreme Court) after finding documents with references to Arthur Lira (PP-AL) and a list of payments linked to the name “Arthur”.

The investigation into deviations in robotics kit contracts originates from a report by Sheet published in April 2022. Another list with citations of payments to the name “Arthur” was also found by the PF —this one revealed by the piauí magazine and confirmed by the Sheet.

Below, learn about the links of the investigation and those investigated with the mayor:

1) What links did the PF find? A document seized from Luciano Cavalcante, direct assistant to the mayor, lists BRL 834,000 in amounts paid from December 2022 to March 2023.

Of this total, at least R$ 650,000 have the name “Arthur” at the front of the value. The document shows the date, amount, recipient of the expense and the name to which the expense is linked. There are at least 30 payments with reference to “Arthur”.

In the document seized from Luciano, they appear as a justification for the transfers from expenses with hotels used by Lira, through expenses with food at the RO, as the official residence is called, in addition to taxes, fuel, expenses with cars and even physiotherapy for the president’s father of the Chamber.

Other pay list items:

• In addition to the name “Arthur”, there are elements that indicate the relationship of values ​​with the President of the Chamber himself. One of them is Bill’s physiotherapy payment, as the politician’s father is known.

• There is a payment of R$ 4,500 linked to “Arthur” for “Hilux overhaul”. As shown to Sheetthe Lira campaign used a Hilux pickup truck in the 2022 election that was also used to deliver money in Maceió, something that is under investigation by the PF.

• There is a description of expenses for reviewing an Amarok. Last year, when Lira ran for election to renew her federal deputy mandate, Luciano lent a car he owned — a VW Amarok, black, year 2020 — to be used in the mayor’s campaign.

• Purchase of tires for a Saveiro vehicle —Lira declared that she had a Saveiro in her property payments to the Electoral Justice in the last elections.

• Notes of values ​​related to the name “Arthur” with Luciano’s driver, Wanderson de Oliveira. The case revealed by piauí magazine points to 11 payments of around R$ 265,000 between April and May 2023. The driver stated that the payments were made at Luciano’s request.

2) What happens now with the investigation? A Sheet found that the PF of Alagoas had already sent the material to the STF after finding the citations to Lira with Luciano and his driver – and now it will be up to Minister Luís Roberto Barroso to define the direction of the investigation. The Attorney General’s Office had already requested that the case be sent to higher courts.

The existence of citations to Lira in the PF seizures had been circulating in Brasília since the searches that targeted Luciano and his driver in Operation Hefesto, indicating that at some point the case would go up to the STF.

3) What is the origin of the investigation? It all starts with reports from Sheet published in April last year. In one of them, a report showed that the company from Maceió contracted to supply robotics kits to city halls through amendment resources released by the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government, sold the equipment to the public authorities with a difference of 420% in relation to the price declared having paid for at least one of the purchases he made of the product.

While municipalities disbursed R$ 14,000 for each educational robot, with money from the federal government transferred through the so-called rapporteur amendments, invoice obtained by the Sheet shows that Megalic purchased units for BRL 2,700 from a supplier in the interior of São Paulo.

The owners of the company from Alagoas are Roberta Lins Costa Melo and Edmundo Catunda, father of Maceió councilor João Catunda, an ally of the mayor, Arthur Lira.

The deputy, at the time, was mainly responsible for controlling in Brasilia the distribution of part of the budget rapporteur’s billionaire amendments, source of resources for robotics kits.

4) What are the connections of the investigated with Lira? One of the search and seizure warrants was executed at the address of one of Lira’s closest assistants: Luciano Cavalcante, then assigned to the leadership of the PP in the Chamber and exonerated shortly after the operation. He accompanies the President of the Chamber on various agendas and trips.

Luciano’s wife, Glaucia, was also Lira’s advisor and appears in the investigation.

One of the suspects is that Luciano and his wife may be beneficiaries of amounts embezzled from contracts for the purchase of robotics kits, funded in part with money from the rapporteur’s amendments.

The PF reached Luciano Cavalcante and Glaucia when investigating financial movements by Megalic, a company owned by an ally of Lira, winner of contract bids for the sale of kits and also the target of the operation.

* In the image below, Lira and her advisor Luciano Cavalcante at an event in Alagoas

5) What do the defenses say? Lawyer André Callegari, who defends Luciano, says that he did not “have full access to the investigation records and steps already taken, which prevents any manifestation, since the motivation for the operation that was launched is not known”.

Sought, Lira replied through his press office that the transactions with their names refer to the remuneration received by him as a parliamentarian or to gains in rural activity.

“All financial transactions and payments of expenses made by the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira, whether carried out by him and, sometimes, by his advisory, originate from his earnings as a farmer and his remuneration as a federal deputy”, says a note sent by the advisory.

He stated on the day of the operation that he does not feel affected by the Federal Police operation that targets his allies. In an interview with GloboNews, he said that he has “absolutely nothing to do with what is happening” and that each one is “responsible for their CPF in this land and in this country”.