Nikolas Ferreira questions Tebet about court orders after Ciro Gomes’ statement

Federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) will ask Minister Simone Tebet, of Planning, this Tuesday (5), for explanations about the full discharge of court orders authorized by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) last year. The request comes days after former presidential candidate Ciro Gomes (PDT) pointed out irregularities in the process.

In an interview with CNN Brazil last Saturday (2), Ciro alleged that the government had sold the precatório to a few banks at a discount of up to 50%, which he considers a “bigger fraud than the monthly payment and the petrolão together”. This statement motivated Nikolas to ask the minister for clarification, especially after identifying her signature on the first payment of court orders.

“Ciro Gomes denounced a possible scandal by the Lula government involving court orders and banks. Therefore, I will file a representation so that the accusations can be investigated. At the same time, I will request information from the Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet, about the process of fully paying off these court orders. If the answer is not enlightening, it is up to Parliament to evaluate the validity of these transactions through a CPI”, said the deputy.

Ciro Gomes’ speeches were reproduced by other opposition deputies, such as Carla Zambelli (PL-SP) and Kim Kataguiri (União-SP), criticizing the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

The minister and the government did not comment on Ciro Gomes’ statements.

At the end of November 2023, the STF authorized the Union to open extraordinary credit to regularize the payment of court orders for 2022 and 2023, overturning constitutional restrictions that prevented transfers to beneficiaries.

On December 20, the Executive published a Provisional Measure (MP) releasing R$93.1 billion in the Budget for this purpose, and in January of this year, the Federal Regional Courts (TRFs) began to authorize the withdrawal of the 2022 court orders, 2023 and 2024.

More recently, the government released R$30 billion for the payment of court orders in February, part of the amount foreseen for the entire year and which was initially scheduled for July. “The entire budget resources involved are already under the management of the applicable courts, for effective payment to the respective beneficiaries”, said Gustavo Guimarães, executive secretary of Planning.

In addition to requesting information from the minister, Nikolas plans to file a representation with the Public Prosecutor’s Office so that the case can be investigated. He highlighted the importance of clarifying the accusations made by Ciro Gomes and, if the answers are not satisfactory, he considers the possibility of a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) to assess the validity of the transactions.