Brazilian Federal Police investigate the embezzlement of over R$ 100 million from Banco do Nordeste.

247 – In 2005, a parliamentary aide to then-Ceará state deputy José Guimarães (PT), brother of José Genoino, was arrested by the Federal Police with US$100 in his underwear. The money was a bribe received by the then-chief of staff of the Banco do Nordeste (BNB) and former PT leader, Kennedy Moura, to expedite loans at the bank. Seven years later, in a new scheme, a company belonging to the brothers-in-law of the current chief of staff, Robério Gress do Vale, received almost R$12 million. Vale was the fourth largest individual donor to the 2010 campaign of the current federal deputy José Guimarães. Read the report by Leopoldo Mateus, from Época magazine:

At the height of the Mensalão scandal in July 2005, no case attracted as much attention as the "dollars in the underwear," which led to José Genoino's resignation as president of the Workers' Party. A parliamentary aide to then-Ceará state deputy José Guimarães (PT), Genoino's brother, was arrested by the Federal Police at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo. In his underwear, there was US$100 in cash. Investigations at the time indicated that the money was a bribe received by the then-chief of staff of the Banco do Nordeste (BNB) and former PT leader, Kennedy Moura, to expedite loans from the bank. Seven years later, an internal audit of the bank and another by the Comptroller General of the Union, obtained by ÉPOCA magazine, reveal a new money laundering scheme. The company of the brothers-in-law of the current chief of staff, Robério Gress do Vale, alone received almost R$12 million. Kennedy's successor, Vale was the fourth largest individual donor to the 2010 campaign of current federal deputy José Guimarães.

Guimarães' power over the BNB (Banco do Nordeste) can be measured by the list of donors to his successful second-term campaign two years ago. The largest individual donation is from himself. The second is from José Alencar Sydrião Júnior, a director of the BNB and a member of the PT (Workers' Party). The third is from Roberto Smith, also a member of the PT, who was president of the bank during the period when fraudulent operations occurred and is now president of the Ceará State Development Agency, appointed by Governor Cid Gomes (PSB). The current president of the BNB, Jurandir Vieira Santiago, comes in 11th. Elected to the Federal Chamber for the first time in 2006, with the highest vote count in Ceará, Guimarães gained power in the Chamber. He became deputy leader of the government and became widely recognized as the man who appointed the board of directors at the Banco do Nordeste. In the hotly contested battlefield of Northeastern politics, the BNB is José Guimarães' territory.

The new scheme of embezzlement and fraud at the northeastern bank follows a pattern already established in the long and rich history of Brazilian corruption: the use of front men or fake invoices to justify loans or financing taken from the bank. Just like in the money laundering scandal of the Mensalão era, the suspicions involve members of the PT (Workers' Party). A survey conducted by ÉPOCA magazine shows that, among the names involved in the investigations by the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) and the Federal Police, there are at least ten members of the PT. Presented with the survey and documents, the prosecutor in the case, Ricardo Rocha, was emphatic in stating that he sees strong evidence of an off-the-books campaign financing scheme. "The number of PT members involved suggests an orchestrated action to raise funds," says Rocha.

Most of the fraudulent operations occurred between the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2011. The total value of the loans reached R$ 100 million, and the debt to the bank reached R$ 125 million. MP Empreendimentos, Destak Empreendimentos, and Destak Incorporadora alone obtained loans totaling R$ 11,9 million. They belong to the brothers of Robério do Vale's wife, Marcelo and Felipe Rocha Parente. According to the bank's own audit, the three companies are part of a list of 24 that obtained loans from BNB using false invoices, front men, or forged signatures. The companies were identified after a complaint filed by Fred Elias de Souza, one of the business managers at Banco do Nordeste. He learned of the scheme at the branch where he worked, Fortaleza-Centro, and decided to contact the Public Prosecutor's Office in September of last year. "I've been a bank employee for 28 years. When I found out what was happening, I felt it was my duty to notify the Public Prosecutor's Office," he says. After learning the content and seriousness of Souza's allegations, prosecutor Rocha summoned representatives from the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the Federal Police, and the Comptroller General of the Union to observe the deposition.