RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio de Janeiro Prosecutor’s Office (MP-RJ) has opened two proceedings to investigate allegations of ghost employee hiring and suspected kickback schemes for employees’ salaries – in the office of city councilman Carlos Bolsonaro, the son of President Jair Bolsonaro. The suspicions are similar to those involving Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who also is alleged to have hired ghost employees and used a similar kickback system through former advisor Fabricio Queiroz.
According to Época magazine, the investigations were opened after the announcement in July that Carlos had hired seven relatives of Jair Bolsonaro’s ex-wife and his stepmother, Ana Cristina Valle. At the time, two of them admitted that although they had been appointed to serve in the cabinet, they had never worked there. The MP-RJ is also investigating suspicions that at least three other individuals appointed by the deputy have never worked in Rio’s City Council.
The criminal investigation conducted by the Prosecutor’s Office is under the responsibility of Chief Prosecutor Eduardo Gussem, with the support of the Original Criminal Attribution Group (GAOCRIM). The investigation into administrative misconduct, which runs in the civil courts, is being processed by the 8th Prosecutor’s Office for the Collective Protection of the Citizenry.
On Monday, September 9th, Carlos Bolsonaro requested an unpaid leave from the City Hall, alleging the need to deal with “private matters”.
The scheme under investigation in Carlos Bolsonaro’s office bears similarities to the one involving his brother, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and his former advisor Fabricio Queiroz.
The atypical transactions ultimately involved a COAF (Financial Activities Control Council) report that found unusual financial transactions by state deputies, parliamentary advisors, and public officials in Rio de Janeiro, triggering Operation Furna da Onça, an unfolding of Lava Jato.
Despite the suspicious transaction of R$1.2 million (US$300,000) and a deposit of R$24,000 into the account of first lady Michele Bolsonaro, neither Flávio nor Queiroz were among the targets of the operation, which led to the arrest of ten state representatives and 16 other public officials involved in the scheme.
(Source: Brasil 247; Época)