247 - The most surprising revelation from Paulo Roberto Costa, in his plea bargain testimony, is the involvement of Eduardo Campos as one of the three governors who benefited from the corruption scheme allegedly operated by money launderer Alberto Yousseff – the other two being Sergio Cabral, who has already left office, in Rio de Janeiro, and Roseana Sarney, from Maranhão.
This connection between Paulo Roberto Costa, Eduardo Campos, and Alberto Youssef sheds light on the controversial purchase of the Cessna jet, which crashed in Santos (SP) on August 13, killing the former governor himself and six other people. It is already known that the plane was purchased with off-the-books funds. Especially since part of the acquisition was financed with money from the money launderer.
According to the Federal Police investigation, the company Câmara e Vasconcelos paid R$ 159,9 to the owners of AF Andrade, the former owners of the aircraft. This company, in turn, received funds from MO Consultoria, a company created by Alberto Youssef to receive money from construction companies (read more). here (the original Folha de S. Paulo report on the case).
Apparently, Paulo Roberto Costa was fully aware of the close relationship between Eduardo Campos and the money launderer Alberto Youssef. So much so that he had been pressuring the former governor of Pernambuco, already a presidential candidate for the PSB party, to be his defense witness. Costa only gave up on taking Campos to court after a plea bargain, as reported by the Radar column in the note below:
Defense witness
Days before he died, Edward Fields He managed to get Paulo Roberto Costa to waive his right to testify as a defense witness in the accusations against the former Petrobras director regarding the suspected overpricing of the Abreu e Lima refinery in Pernambuco. The negotiation was conducted by both parties' lawyers.
Before the agreement, Campos was summoned to testify in the case on Friday the 15th.
This connection between Eduardo Campos and the scheme operated by Paulo Roberto Costa and Alberto Youssef makes the situation more delicate for the new PSB candidate, Marina Silva, who could exploit the scandal in her advocacy for a new kind of politics. This is especially true because she took several flights on a plane purchased with undeclared funds when she was Campos's running mate. The PSB's strategy to distance Marina from the case was carried forward last week when the party changed the CNPJ (Brazilian tax ID) of the campaign's finance committee.
Read below the previous 247 report on the case:
Money launderer Youssef appears on the PSB jet, which changes its CNPJ (Brazilian tax ID).
One of the installments for the jet in which Eduardo Campos and Marina Silva flew at the beginning of the election campaign was paid for with funds from a company linked to the money launderer Alberto Youssef, arrested in Operation Lava Jato; the Federal Police are investigating whether the aircraft was purchased with undeclared funds from the PSB party; recently, the socialist deputy Júlio Delgado (PSB-MG) requested the removal of André Vargas (independent-PR) alleging that he hitched a ride on a plane belonging to the money launderer; how will the case in which the two presidential candidates from the PSB used a jet paid for with Youssef's funds be handled now? The party changed the CNPJ (Brazilian tax ID) of the campaign's financial committee to try to disassociate Marina from the controversy.
247 – The "ghost plane" used in the presidential campaign of PSB candidates Eduardo Campos and Marina Silva is now linked to a well-known name in the justice system: the money launderer Alberto Youssef. Arrested in Operation Lava Jato, he is accused of leading a money laundering and bribery scheme involving public officials that may have moved R$ 10 billion in recent years.
The Federal Police are investigating whether the aircraft was purchased with funds from the PSB's undeclared campaign contributions. The use of the plane was not included in the party's expense report to the Electoral Court.
Among the 16 bank deposits received by AF Andrade, from Ribeirão Preto (SP), in the sale of the Cessna that crashed with Campos' entourage in Santos, there is one from a company that also did business with a consulting firm belonging to Youssef, considered a shell company by the Federal Police. Andréia Sadi's report indicates that Câmara & Vasconcelos paid R$ 159,9 to AF Andrade (read more). here).
The PSB claims that neither the party nor Campos were aware of Youssef's relationship with one of the companies that made deposits to AF Andrade.
Recently, Socialist congressman Júlio Delgado (PSB-MG) requested the removal from office of André Vargas (independent-PR), alleging that he hitched a ride on a plane belonging to the money launderer.
How will the case in which the two presidential candidates from the PSB used a jet paid for with Youssef's funds be viewed now?
The PSB is trying to distance Marina Silva from the controversy. They even changed the CNPJ (Brazilian tax ID) of the campaign's finance committee to shift responsibility for the case to the late Eduardo Campos. This change is not legally required.
