Marcelo Miranda's slush fund would be flown on a plane belonging to a PMDB contractor.

Tocantins 247 - The twin-engine Seneca aircraft, registration PR GCM, seized by the Civil Police of Goiás this Thursday, the 18th, in Piracanjuba (GO) with R$ 504 in cash and thousands of pamphlets for the gubernatorial candidate Marcelo Miranda and the federal deputy candidate Carlos Gaguim, both from the PMDB party, is owned by Construtora Alja Ltda.

The company's partners are businessman Ronaldo Alves Japiassú and his son, Ronaldo Alves Japiassú Filho. Ronaldo Japiassu was previously president of the PMDB party's Porto Nacional branch and is a friend of former governor Marcelo Miranda.  

Douglas Marcelo Alencar Schimmitt, who confessed to the Goiás Civil Police that the money not declared to the Electoral Court would be used in Marcelo's campaign, is the son-in-law of the former mayor of Porto Nacional and candidate for federal deputy for the PT, Paulo Mourão, an ally of the PMDB candidate. Douglas Schimmitt was the representative of the company Via Dragados in an agreement signed with Dertins in 2007. In addition to Douglas, pilot Roberto Carlos Maya Barbosa, 48, security guard Lucas Marinho Araújo, 24, and Marco Antônio Jayme Roriz, 46, were also arrested.

Alja Construtora benefited from contracts during Marcelo Miranda's second term as governor of Tocantins. On July 24, 2007, Ronaldo Japiassú signed a contract worth R$ 2.778.556,03 with the former Department of Highways of Tocantins, Dertins, for improvement works on 126,83 km of rural roads in Paranã. The contract was signed between Japiassu and José Edmar de Brito Miranda, Marcelo Miranda's father and representative of Dertins at the time. The works are part of the Sustainable Regional Development Program (PDRS), with resources financed by the World Bank. 

On August 13, 2009, Alja Construtora and Dertins signed a new contract, worth R$ 1.364.856,65. The money also came from PDRS and the purpose was to improve 114,05 km of rural roads in the municipality of Filadelfia. Ronaldo Japiassú and Brito Miranda were again signatories.

During the administration of Governor Sandoval Cardoso (SD), the construction company Alja signed a contract worth R$ 17.400.000,00 for asphalt paving works in five neighborhoods of the city of Porto Nacional. The contract was signed on June 20th of this year. 

On social media, photos are circulating of Douglas Schimmitt and Lucas Marinho alongside Governor Sandoval Cardoso and state deputy candidate Eduardo Siqueira Campos (PTB). Allies of Marcelo Miranda are arguing on social media that the seizure of the slush fund was a setup to harm the PMDB candidate's campaign.

Other side

O Tocantins 247 We were unable to contact Ronaldo Japiassu to hear his side of the story. The space remains open for the businessman to comment. 

The press office of candidate Marcelo Miranda reported that the coalition does not yet have an official position on the seizure of campaign money and materials. "We don't have an official position from the coalition. At the right time, we will give our response in the political and legal arena because we want a real investigation into who is behind this story," the press office stated.

The State Government released a statement regarding contracts signed with the construction company Alja since Marcelo Miranda's administration. The government emphasized that the contract from Sandoval's administration was signed after a bidding process and that no payments have yet been made to the company.

Read in full.

"NOTE:

In light of the news reports regarding contracts signed between the government of Tocantins and the construction company Alja Ltda, the state government informs that:

1) Governor Sandoval Cardoso is keen to emphasize that he is handling the matter transparently and that, under his administration, the execution of services is carried out under the rigorous supervision of the State's control bodies.

2) Between July 2007 and August 2009 (during the administration of former governor and candidate Marcelo Miranda), the company signed two contracts with the State of Tocantins totaling R$ 4.162.193,88;

3) The first is contract number 126, signed in July 2007, with a value of R$ 2.778.556,03 and a term of 240 days, from July 2007 to March 2008. This contract had an addendum in July 2008 in the amount of R$ 9.073,07. It was also amended in November 2008, adding R$ 9.708,13 to the total value;

4) The second contract was signed in August 2009, for the amount of R$ 1.364.856,65, with a term of 300 days, from August 2009 to June 2010;

5) Both contracts date from the administration of José Edmar Brito Miranda, father of former governor Marcelo Miranda, who was in charge of Dertins and the Secretariat of Infrastructure;

6) The current administration has only signed one contract with the aforementioned company, through a public bidding process in which two other companies participated. And, as in all bidding processes, the company won the competition by presenting the lowest price compared to the other participants;

7) The contract refers to the execution of asphalt paving works (TSD type), surface drainage, road signage, accessible sidewalks, storm drains with complementary works, and the preparation of basic and executive projects, to be carried out in the following sectors: Vila Nova, Nova Capital, Jardim dos Ipês, Parque Liberdade, and Novo Horizonte in Porto Nacional, for the amount of R$ 17.400.000,00;

8) The subject of the aforementioned contract is in the project development phase and no payment has been made;

Government of the State of Tocantins 

Read also Plane seized with R$ 500 and campaign leaflets for Miranda.