PF targets Lira allies in robotics kits case operation – 06/01/2023 – Politics

The Federal Police is carrying out this Thursday morning (1) arrest and search and seizure warrants in an investigation into deviations in contracts for the purchase of robotics kits with money from the FNDE (National Fund for the Development of Education).

The case originated after a Folha report published in April last year on acquisitions in municipalities in Alagoas, all signed with the same company belonging to allies of the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL).

The PF investigates possible fraud that may have generated a loss of R$ 8.1 million. 26 search warrants and two temporary arrest warrants issued by the Federal Court of Alagoas are fulfilled.

As the newspaper showed at the time, the kits were contracted with resources, in large part, from the billionaire amendments of the Budget rapporteur — at that moment, during the Jair Bolsonaro government, Lira was responsible for controlling the distribution of part of this type in Brasília of funds.

The company supplying the robotics kits is Megalic, which operated in a small house in the neighborhood of Jatiuca, in Maceió, with a capital of R$ 1 million.

The company is just an intermediary, although it has closed millionaire contracts, at least R$ 24 million, and does not produce robotics kits.

Megalic is in the name of Roberta Lins Costa Melo and Edmundo Catunda, father of Maceió councilor João Catunda (PSD). The closeness of the councilor and his father to Lira is public.

In addition to the company and Edmundo Catundo, the PF is targeting other allies of Lira in Alagoas.

According to the PF, the crimes would have been committed between 2019 and 2022 in contracts with 43 municipalities in Alagoas.

“According to the investigation, the aforementioned contracts would have been illicitly directed to a single supplier of robotics equipment, through the insertion of restrictive technical specifications in the tender notices and the restriction of the full participation of other bidders”, said the PF in note.

As shown to Sheetthe TCU had already pointed out fraud in the processes of purchasing robotics kits in the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government and suspended the contracts.

The technical area of ​​the court identified, in total, 253 commitments in a total amount of R$ 189 million for the purchase of robotics kits. Most of it is related to rapporteur amendments appeals, and not all of it was actually paid.

The list raised by the TCU indicates prioritization to the municipalities of Alagoas and Pernambuco, where 12 municipalities received R$ 44 million, according to the agency. “We saw an explicit benefit of the states of Alagoas and Pernambuco with amendments that clearly violate the constitutional principles on isonomy and reduction of regional inequalities”, said Minister Walton Alencar, rapporteur of the case, in his vote.

Still according to the TCU, “to the detriment of other municipalities, most of the funds passed on had their origin in amendments by the rapporteur (RP-9)”.