MG prosecutor defends businessman in jet case – 05/21/2023 – Power

Head of the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais, Attorney General Jarbas Soares Júnior defended his friend, businessman Lucas Kallas, from the mining sector, who gave him a ride by jet from Miami, Florida, to Belo Horizonte (MG) .

The case may be investigated after a group of nine prosecutors from the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais ask the Corregedoria-Geral to investigate the ride, which took place in July last year.

The ride was revealed by Piauí magazine on May 10 of this year. Jarbas, according to the report, went to the United States on a career flight. He and the attorney general are friends.

“Business person with whom I live, my friend from the weekly family area. My friend I hold in the highest regard. He is not the personality referred to in the article, as if he were a bandit”, he said, when questioned by a counselor on Monday ( 15) during a session of the Superior Council of the Public Ministry, chaired by him.

“Lucas Kallas was recently nominated and was sworn in by the President of the Republic to join the Economic Development Council of the Republic [o Conselhão]”, said the attorney general, in further praise of his friend.

He added that he is a member of the Strategic Management Council of Fiemg (Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais) and the Council of Santa Casa de Misericórdia of Belo Horizonte. “In addition, it has a daycare center that serves about 500 children a month.”

“So, in fact, it’s about a person, a citizen, that the article, for one interest or another, which I still haven’t been able to decipher, tries to reach”, said Soares about the article.

And he continued: “In this case, the companies of my friend Lucas Kallas pay taxes at least 300 times a year, greater than the judicial discussion he has”, defended the prosecutor, on the financial liability with the Public Power cited in the report. .

The magazine says that Kallas has a debt with the tax authorities and that he responds to lawsuits in Federal Justice.

“So you try to create a climate of cronyism and things that go wrong. In fact, he is a businessman of my coexistence, of my friendship, like so many others that I have.”

Also according to the report, Kallas was arrested by the Federal Police in 2008, when he owned a construction company, for alleged involvement in a scheme to divert public resources through the PAC (Growth Acceleration Program).

Soares claimed that he was on vacation with his friend in the United States. The prosecutor’s wife was also on the jet.

According to the MP-MG press office, the representation has been pending since Tuesday (16) at the body’s internal affairs department, which should conclude a preliminary analysis of the request in the coming days. The press office also said that Soares will not comment until this step is completed.

Kallas’ advisory stated that the businessman will not comment.

The internal affairs department, as defined by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, is the supervisory body for the conduct of the institution’s members and employees. The investigation request states that the ride does not conform to ethical and moral principles.

The request for opening an investigation made by prosecutors questions ethical and moral principles. “It should be noted that the friendship relationship between those involved is not being investigated, as this is public and well-known information”, claims the request for opening the investigation.

The investigation request also points to the example that can be passed by the behavior of the attorney general. “Such a fact cannot be normalized internally by the members of the Public Ministry because it materializes a clear and imminent discredit to anyone who is indifferent to it.”

At the end, the request requires that possible purchases of tickets with MP-MG funds for the United States be identified and, also, if tickets were issued with a round trip or one-way ticket, and if there was a subsequent cancellation.

It also requests information on the possible issuance of tickets for people who are not from the MP-MG, in addition to investigating whether agreements have been closed between the institution and Grupo Cedro, from Kallas.