STF completes three years without being accountable to anyone

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) completed three years without reporting to the Federal Audit Court (TCU). And there was no shortage of evidence of irregularities in the last accounting to the court, relating to 2019. Failures in hiring were highlighted due to exemption from bidding and defects in the granting of daily allowances and tickets. In the areas of ombudsman and access to information, the court’s internal audit identified “risks to the image of the STF in society”, resulting from “disclosure of inaccurate information, in form and content”. But TCU approved the accounts.

The blog has been pointing out for years the lack of transparency in purchasing tickets for ministers, without indicating the destination or reason for the trip. This year, secret flights by STF ministers on FAB jets emerged, traveling home on weekends. Until October, 54 trips were carried out, costing R$800,000. On 40 flights, the minister was the only passenger. The ministers allege a security issue in requesting stewardship.

Until 2021, the travels of ministers, advisors and security guards were published on the STF Transparency page in PDF spreadsheets, which made data collection extremely difficult. Starting last year, data began to be released in electronic spreadsheets. But the main data remains hidden: the destination of the ministers and the reason for their travel. Only the name of the ministers or servants and the cost of the ticket are disclosed. The court does not even inform whether the trip is national or international.

Despite the lack of transparency, it is possible to determine that the biggest expenses in 2022 and 2023 were from the current president, Luís Roberto Barroso: R$402 thousand. In second place, Ricardo Lewandowski, with R$390 thousand. In third place, Alexandre de Moraes, with expenses of R$343 thousand. Where they went, what they did… is information that remains hidden. The court alleges security reasons for not disclosing this data.

From 2003 to 2014, the STF had accounting judgments by the TCU, with full discharge. In 2015, there was no judgment on the Supreme Court’s accounts. In 2016 and 2017, the trials returned, with full discharge. In 2018, the STF did not have its accounts judged by the TCU. The last year in which there was a judgment was 2019. The public bodies that will have accounts judged each year are defined according to criteria established in the rules approved by the TCU.

Without TCU intervention

In relation to the 2019 accountability, under President Dias Toffoli, internal audit evaluated the ombudsman services and compliance with the Access to Information Law (LAI). The risk to the image of the STF was observed “resulting from the dissemination of inaccurate information”, and “risk to the effective participation of citizens”, due to the inadequacy of the STF portal and the electronic form for their manifestations and requests.

The absence of a channel to respond to manifestations and requests from authorities, civil servants and collaborators and inadequate dissemination of statistical data produced by the Citizen Center were also highlighted. In view of these findings, the creation of the ombudsman function, the implementation of an internal ombudsman and the improvement of the STF portal were proposed. But Ruling 9764/2021 concluded that, since the proposed measures would continue to be monitored by internal audit, “there is no need for TCU intervention”.

Daily rates and tickets

The TCU also evaluated the quality of internal controls related to purchasing and contracting activities through exemption from bidding. In monitoring the exemptions carried out from January 2018 to December 2019, internal audit detected a deficiency in proving the requirements required by the legal hypothesis of exemption from bidding, deficiency in justifying the price to be contracted upon exemption from bidding and non-compliance with a contractual clause due to part of the contractor. But the audit was still ongoing. Thus, the TCU court understood that there was “no TCU action” that should be implemented.

In evaluating the internal controls for granting tickets and daily allowances, the internal audit was based on audit monitoring carried out in 2017, in which several findings were identified. Of the total recommendations issued, 34 were implemented, which represents 79% of the actions proposed by internal audit.

But the TCU recorded that, “despite the persistence of reported defects, which make the effectiveness of internal management controls unfeasible, the operational improvements implemented by the Administration have provided greater efficiency in the process of granting tickets and daily allowances”. Thus, once again, the court noted that “intervention by the TCU is not necessary”.

Travel with spouse

In the reporting for the 2017 financial year, which took place in October 2019, the internal controls relating to the granting of tickets and daily allowances were evaluated, based on an audit carried out in the 2016/2017 financial year. Deficiencies were found in granting benefits without an appropriate legal basis (“Monthly Quota”) and granting tickets for use not linked to the service object.

The causes of the deficiencies would have been the lack of criteria and definition of procedures in the process of granting tickets and daily allowances and the inadequacies contained in Resolution-STF 545/2015. The art. 20 of this resolution provided, for trips abroad, the following category of air transport: “first class: minister and respective spouse or partner, when their presence is essential, when away to represent the court in events of a protocol or ceremonial nature in the outside”.

TCU decision in 2019 records the purchase of tickets for the wives of five ministers abroad, in 1st class, from 2009 to 2012, for a total value of R$1 million (in updated values).

The Secretariat for External Control of Administration concluded that the issuance of international air tickets to spouses or companions of STF ministers, despite being provided for in the court’s internal regulations, was not supported by laws and regulations that govern representation or ceremonies abroad. “There is no legal basis for travel expenses to be incurred by people not linked to the public administration, as they do not carry out any activity related to the interest of the service and, consequently, which have the public interest as their objective”, records Judgment 1794/ 2019.