Prosecutors indict 23 for fraud in environmental permits.

Tocantins 247 - The State Public Prosecutor's Office (MPE), through the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco), filed eight criminal charges against rural producers, environmental technicians, and public servants of the Tocantins Nature Institute (Naturatins) for environmental crimes related to the fraudulent issuance of permits for the exploitation of forest areas. A total of 23 people were charged. The fraudulent permits referred to in the charges were issued in 2014 and resulted in the illegal deforestation of a total of 3.374 hectares of permanent preservation areas and legal reserves. The MPE is requesting a total payment of R$ 30 million in compensation for environmental damage, among other applicable sanctions.

The allegations point to the existence of a corruption scheme and describe a consistent modus operandi in the issuance of fraudulent permits, which aimed to enable the elimination of environmental protection for certain farms through the irregular transfer of their legal reserves to other rural properties.

According to the account, rural producers, advised by technicians, submitted administrative requests to Naturatins for deforestation authorization, omitting information that would indicate the maintenance of legal reserves on the original properties. The environmental agency then issued technical opinions and authorizations in total disregard of environmental laws, thus carrying out the fraud.

Among the irregularities committed within Naturatins, the complaints cite the absence of on-site inspections of rural properties and the failure to observe the laws and regulations governing licensing processes and authorizations for deforestation. The "extraordinary" speed with which administrative processes related to these cases are handled is also highlighted as strange.

The irregularities were found in analyses of licensing procedures carried out by the technical staff of the Center for Operational Support for Urban Planning, Housing and the Environment (Caoma), which identified fraud in the documentation and the consequent illegal deforestation of legal reserve areas. Upon completing the analyses, Caoma reported to the Gaeco (Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime) the possible formation of a corruption scheme aimed at facilitating illegal deforestation in several municipalities of the State.

The fraudulent permits for exploitation of forest areas involve rural properties located in the municipalities of Cariri do Tocantins, Guaraí, Miracema do Tocantins, Monte do Carmo, Paraíso do Tocantins, Pium, Porto Nacional, and Sucupira.

The criminal charges are signed by Public Prosecutor Marcelo Ulisses Sampaio, coordinator of the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco).

Penalties

The Public Prosecutor's Office requests the indictment of those involved for the practice of environmental crimes foreseen in Law 9.605/98, specified in article 50 (Destroying or damaging native or planted forests/ Penalty: detention of three months to one year, and a fine), article 66 (A public official making a false or misleading statement, omitting the truth, withholding technical-scientific information or data in environmental authorization or licensing procedures/ Penalty: imprisonment of one to three years and a fine), article 67 (Granting a license, authorization or permit in disagreement with environmental regulations, for activities, works or services whose execution depends on an authorizing act of the Public Power/ Penalty: detention of one to three years, and a fine) and article 69-A (Preparing or presenting, in licensing, forest concession or any other administrative procedure, a totally or partially false or misleading environmental study, report or assessment, including by omission/ Penalty: imprisonment of three to six years, and a fine).

People reported

FAZENDA REUNIDAS JANGADAS (SUCUPIRA)

Maurício Luiz da Costa, rural producer;

Furtunato Vieira Neto, Brazilian, biologist and environmental expert;

Denilson Bezerra Costa, employee of Naturatins;

Stalin Beze Bucar, former president of Naturatins.

FAZENDA TRÊS CABECEIRAS (GUARAÍ)

Etheocles Cardoso Neto, rural producer;

Israel Domingues Guimarães Junior, agricultural engineer;

Lucas Adriano Bacin, employee of Naturatins;

Stalin Beze Bucar, former president of Naturatins.

Santo Antônio Farm (Cariri, Tocantins)

Marco Aurélio Afonso Caetano, rural producer;

Duam Matosinhos de Carvalho, forestry engineer;

Cláudia Izabel Guedelha e Silva, employee of Naturatins;

Stalin Beze Bucar, former president of Naturatins.

PLANALTO, PLANALTO II AND PLANALTO III FARMS (PARAÍSO DO TOCANTINS)

Djalma Costa Santana, rural producer;

Éder Terra de Oliveira, agricultural engineer,

Cassiano Milhomem da Costa, public servant;

Denilson Bezerra Costa, employee of Naturatins;

Stalin Beze Bucar, former president of Naturatins.

BOM JARDIM FARM (PIUM)

Paulo Antônio Lopes, rural producer;

Helcio Ribeiro Amorim, forestry engineer:

Denilson Bezerra Costa, employee of Naturatins;

Stalin Beze Bucar, former president of Naturatins.

PEDRINHA FARM (PORTO NACIONAL)

José Roberto Faion, rural producer;

Eliosvaldo Pereira Gomes, environmental engineer;

Renato Pires da Silva, employee of Naturatins;

Ruberval Barbosa de Alencar, employee of Naturatins;

Alexandre Tadeu de Moraes Rodrigues.

TAQUARI, TAQUARI II AND TAQUARI III FARMS (PORTO NACIONAL AND MIRACEMA)

Djalma Costa Santana, rural producer;

Dejenane Pereira de Santana, rural producer;

Éder Terra de Oliveira, agricultural engineer;

Cassiano Milhomem da Costa, employee of Naturatins;

Denilson Bezerra Costa, employee of Naturatins;

Stalin Beze Bucar, former president of Naturatins.

SANTA IZABEL FARM (MONTE DO CARMO)

Acácio Bernardes Gomes, rural producer;

Hereslucas Carmo Oliveira, agricultural engineer;

Denilson Bezerra Costa, employee of Naturatins;

Stalin Beze Bucar, former president of Naturatins.