Brazilian Federal Police found R$ 32 in cash in the office of the governor of Tocantins.

247 - The Federal Police (PF) continued Operation Fames-19 this Wednesday, September 3rd, executing 51 search and seizure warrants in several states, including Tocantins, Paraíba, Maranhão, and the Federal District. The action was a continuation of the first phase of the operation, carried out in August 2024, which had already identified irregularities involving the governor of Tocantins, Wanderlei Barbosa. This information comes from... g1.

The main discovery of this new phase was the seizure of R$ 32.200,00 in cash in the governor's office, located in the Araguaia Palace, the state government headquarters. The money was found along with stamps belonging to Barbosa and his chief of staff, Marcos Martins Camilo.

The Federal Police detailed that, in addition to the money found in the governor's office, another R$ 35.500,00, US$ 1.100,00 and 80 euros were seized in Wanderlei's office, located in the residence of one of his allies, known as Wanderlei. According to the Federal Police, these findings reinforce the suspicion that acts of passive corruption have been recurrent in the administration of the Tocantins government. The investigation indicates that members of the scheme frequently made large cash withdrawals, suggesting the continuation of illicit practices within the state's Executive Branch.

The Federal Police also intercepted WhatsApp conversations between those involved, which clearly demonstrate the negotiation of bribes. In one of the dialogues, Paulo Cesar Lustosa Limeira, the ex-husband of the state's first lady, communicates that Governor Wanderlei Barbosa had decided to extend the state of public calamity in Tocantins. In the exchange of messages, the governor's brother, Wilton Irmão Líder, reacts with laughter to Lustosa's comment. The Federal Police emphasizes that this communication is an indication of involvement in the systematic receipt of bribes.

Another crucial point of the investigation is the practice of fraud in bidding processes. The Federal Police revealed that there was explicit mention in the intercepted dialogues about who would win the bids sponsored by the government, with evident bias towards benefiting people linked to the scheme. Furthermore, a portion of the embezzled funds was allegedly used to build a luxury inn in the name of the governor's son, with more than R$ 2,4 million allocated to the project in the last two years.

The Federal Police investigation is also looking into fraud in contracts for the supply of basic food baskets and frozen chicken during the Covid-19 pandemic. The contracts under investigation, financed by parliamentary amendments from 2020 and 2021, involve the purchase of 1,6 million basic food baskets, with a total value of approximately R$ 5 million. The police suspect that the payments were made, but the food baskets were never fully delivered to the population, which constitutes yet another irregularity in the use of public funds.