Cachoeira paid bribes to Incra in exchange for favors.
Recordings from the Federal Police reveal that the businessman gave the agency R$ 200 for the release of the registration of his farm, called Gama, on the outskirts of Brasília.
247 – Carlinhos Cachoeira's corruption network reached the Incra (National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform) in the Federal District. Recordings by the Federal Police reveal that the gambling businessman paid R$ 200 in bribes for the release of the registration of his farm, called Gama, on the outskirts of Brasília, in April of last year. Cachoeira and businessman Cláudio Abreu, a former director of Delta Construção and suspected of being part of the gang, bought 35% of the farm – about 4.000 hectares – in December 2010 for R$ 2 million, a price well below market value.
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Phone recordings made by the Federal Police reveal that the group of businessman Carlos Cachoeira, accused of running an illegal gambling scheme, negotiated bribes at Incra (National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform) in order to legalize a farm.
According to a report by the Federal Police on Operation Monte Carlo, dated last November, "there is strong evidence of corruption involving public officials in exchange for the necessary permits and signatures for the regularization of the area."
The report mentions figures and states that the superintendent of Incra (National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform) in the Federal District, Marco Aurélio Bezerra da Rocha, was involved with Cachoeira's group.
According to the police, R$ 200 in bribes were paid to secure the registration of the farm, called Gama, on the outskirts of Brasília, in April of last year.
The recordings indicate that Cachoeira and businessman Cláudio Abreu, a former director of Delta Construção and suspected of being part of the criminal organization, bought 35% of the farm—approximately 4.000 hectares—for R$ 2 million in December 2010.
The price, considered by the Federal Police to be below market value, is explained by the land being in an irregular situation, according to the police.
The purpose of the purchase was to profit from resale after regularization—something that, according to the investigation, is unclear as to whether it actually occurred.
The Federal Police state that the money came from a company used by Cachoeira's group for money laundering.
"The amount paid by the group is negligible if the area is registered and regularized," says the Federal Police, when reporting the profit potential of the business.
"The reason for negotiating part of the area for such a low price is based on 'who' the buyers are and what they can do to make the regularization of the farm viable," the Federal Police added.
"ALIGNED PERSON"
The regularization, investigators say, depended on a registration with Incra called georeferencing—a kind of description of the property, with its characteristics and boundaries.
According to the police, after negotiations, the land surveying was completed in eight days and issued on April 19, 2011, with the participation of the head of Incra in the Federal District.
The investigation ends there, not going into what happened to the land afterward.
In a phone recording from April 25th, Gleyb Cruz, Cachoeira's right-hand man, said that he had already informed the businessman of the commitment that had been made by the superintendent of Incra.
"We have someone who may be aligned, someone of weight (...), who is the superintendent of Incra," Cruz stated in a phone call recorded with judicial authorization.
"That person was identified as Marco Aurélio Bezerra Rocha," the police report states.
According to the investigation, there was even a default during the negotiations.
"They [Incra employees] were supposed to receive 200, but they only received 80. No, not 80, 75. Because they had to give another 5 to someone else to do some kind of job, I don't know how it works. They were left with 75, out of 200 they were left with 75, and the guy [intermediary who made the payment] doesn't answer his phone anymore," stated an interlocutor identified by the Federal Police as "Baltazar," one of the land sellers.
The police stated in their report that "200" likely meant R$ 200.