Brazil: Acre’s state governor has passport and property seized in Federal Police operation against corruption and laundering

By Pepita Ortega

The Federal Police opened on Thursday morning, 9, the third stage of ‘Operação Ptolomeu’ – an investigation into alleged corruption and money laundering crimes involving the Acre government.

One of the targets of the investigation is the head of the state executive, governor Gladson Cameli (PP) – he is not the target of searches in the offensive.

Still, the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ordered the seizure of the governor’s passport.

Cameli is also on the list of investigated who had assets blocked by order of the Superior Court.

In all, the STJ determined the unavailability of R$120 million.

The order reaches mansions, apartments, cars, and even aircraft.

Estadão contacted the Secretariat of Communication of the Acre government. There has been no reply yet.

The new ostensive phase of ‘Operação Ptolomeu’ mobilized about 300 agents to fulfill 89 search and seizure warrants at addresses in Acre (AC), Piauí (PI), Goiás (GO), Paraná (PR), Amazonas (AM), Rondônia (RO), and the Federal District (DF).

The operations are being carried out in the cities of Rio Branco, Cruzeiro do Sul, Brasiléia (AC); Chapadão do Céu and Luziânia (GO); the state capitals Manaus, Porto Velho, Brasília, Teresina, São Paulo, and Curitiba.

The images show Federal Police vehicles in front of agencies such as the State Secretariat of Public Works, the Military House, and the National Highway Department of Acre.

According to the Federal Police, the operation ‘seeks the reimbursement of part of the amounts diverted from the public coffers’.

The Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) points out that the deviations occurred in infrastructure works and maintenance of health units and schools.

Justice Nancy Andrighi, the rapporteur of the investigation in the STJ, also ordered the suspension of the economic activities of 15 companies under suspicion and imposed preventive measures other than imprisonment.

They include suspension of the exercise of public office, prohibition of access to public agencies, prevention of contact between the investigated, and prohibition of leaving the country, with the delivery of passports within 24 hours.

According to the CGU, the orders include 21 asset seizures; 31 removals from public office or function; 57 bans on contact and access to public agencies; 57 passport surrenders; 70 breaches of banking and tax secrecy.

The offensive is a development of the first two phases of the investigation, in which the PF identified a ‘criminal organization, controlled by political agents and businessmen linked to the Acre state executive branch, which operated in the detour of public resources, as well as in the performance of acts of concealment of the origin and destination of the subtracted values’.

According to the CGU, the gang under suspicion defrauded public contracts in Acre with resources from health, education, and the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) related to the execution of infrastructure works and building maintenance services.

They are investigated for alleged fraud in contracting, overbilling contracts, payment of undue benefits, and money laundering to promote the illicit enrichment of public servants.

The Comptroller’s Office points out that analyses carried out in partnership with the Federal Police have identified ‘overbilling and non-performance of contracts’ in at least four contracts with companies in the civil construction area.

According to the body, the Acre government made payments totaling R$286,603,478.42, starting in January 2019, to benefit the companies under suspicion.

“The evidence points out that the companies involved used hidden partners to allow individuals with close connections to public servants to obtain advantages in targeted hiring by the Acre Government.”

“It was also detected the practice of constant movement of large sums of money between the investigated and smurfing operation, practice in which the financial values are divided into smaller amounts and deposited in current accounts not to alert the control organs”, indicated the CGU.

Operation Ptolemy was initially opened on December 16, 2021, when the Federal Police conducted searches at addresses linked to Camelli.

The offensive also included an order to block the investigated parties’ assets, amounting to R$7 million.

The second ostensive stage of the investigation was launched days later, on December 22, 2021, and arrested Camelli’s chief of staff at the time, Rosângela Gama.

The operation targeted alleged collusion between officials, who, after the first phase of the operation, would have practiced acts aimed at the obstruction of investigations ‘in an attempt to destroy evidence essential to the continuity’ of investigations.

The name of the offensive refers to the nickname used by one of the main operators of the suspected scheme and the hometown of most of the investigated.

“Ptolemy was a scientist, astronomer, and geographer of Greek origin, who first cataloged the Southern Cross Constellation in his book Almagesto, produced in the second century,” the corporation explained.

As shown by Estadão, among the elements that put Camelli in the crosshairs of the investigation into the alleged scheme of embezzlement in contracts in Health and Infrastructure is a report from the former Council for Financial Activities Control (Coaf) pointing twenty communications of suspicious financial movements involving the governor.

The transactions notified exceed R$828 million.

Among the information that provided the basis for the second phase of the operation is a recording made by security cameras at a hotel in Cruzeiro do Sul, a city 636 kilometers from Rio Branco.

The video shows Camelli’s advisors hiding a cell phone to avoid being seized during searches of the first phase of Ptolomeu.

With information from Estadão