Operation shuts down eight city halls in Rio Grande do Sul.
Civil Police dismantled a network suspected of embezzling approximately R$ 30 million from public funds, on Wednesday morning.
247 – The Civil Police of Rio Grande do Sul dismantled a network suspected of committing crimes against public administration in eight municipalities in the state. The operation, dubbed "Operation Cartola," was launched on Wednesday morning. The scheme allegedly involved diverting approximately R$ 30 million from public funds since 2008. A total of 43 search and seizure warrants are being executed at companies and public institutions.
The municipalities under investigation are Alvorada, Canela, Tramandaí, Parobé, São Sebastião do Caí, Osório, Viamão, and Cachoeirinha. Warrants were also served in Porto Alegre and Canoas, in the metropolitan region. Operation Cartola involves 541 police officers and detectives, as well as members of the Public Prosecutor's Office and 161 vehicles. The investigations began at the end of last year.
In an advertising agency in Porto Alegre, 15 computers and company documents were seized. Among the municipalities that underwent raids by Civil Police agents this morning are Parobé, Canela, and Tramandaí, where an arrest was made for illegal possession of a firearm. Operation Cartola received this name in allusion to the composer Agenor de Oliveira, Cartola, author of the samba Alvorada.