Brazilian Federal Police find financial link between Rodrimar and Temer's operator.

Brazilian Federal Police have found what they consider to be the first documented financial link between Colonel João Baptista Lima Filho, a friend of Michel Temer, and Rodrimar, a company accused of paying bribes to Temer to benefit from a decree concerning ports. The connection between the colonel and Rodrimar is materialized in the company Eliland, an arm of an offshore company based in Uruguay. The Federal Police suspect that the administrator of Eliland's Brazilian branch, Almir Martins, is a front man for the colonel. Martins was the accountant for Temer's election campaigns in 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006, and still works for one of Lima's companies, Argeplan.

May 31, 2018, 09:12 AMUpdated May 28, 2019, 09:32 AM

Brazilian Federal Police have found what they consider to be the first documented financial link between Colonel João Baptista Lima Filho, a friend of Michel Temer, and Rodrimar, a company accused of paying bribes to Temer to benefit from a decree concerning ports; the connection between the colonel and Rodrimar is materialized in the company Eliland, an arm of an offshore company based in Uruguay; the Federal Police suspect that the administrator of Eliland's Brazilian branch, Almir Martins, is a front man for the colonel. Martins was the accountant for Temer's election campaigns in 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006, and still works today at one of Lima's companies, Argeplan (Photo: Aquiles Lins).

247 - The Federal Police have found what they consider to be the first documented financial link between Colonel João Baptista Lima Filho, a friend of Michel Temer, and Rodrimar, a company suspected of paying bribes to Temer to benefit from a decree concerning the Ports.

According to the line of investigation, disclosed by Folha de S. Paul This Thursday, the 31st, the connection between the colonel and Rodrimar materializes in the company Eliland, an arm of an offshore company based in Uruguay.

The Federal Police suspect that the administrator of the Brazilian branch of Eliland, Almir Martins, is a front man for the colonel. Martins was the accountant for Temer's election campaigns in 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006, and still works today at one of Lima's companies, Argeplan.

In his testimony to the Federal Police, the accountant said he was appointed manager to administer money from a single contract—with Rodrimar. Martins did not specify the services he provided.

Colonel Lima, who was arrested in March, is identified as an intermediary for the president and a possible recipient of bribes on behalf of the PMDB politician. Temer has denied the allegations.

The suspicions involving Temer and Rodrimar were based on documents seized in Operation Patmos and wiretapped phone conversations of Rodrigo Rocha Loures, Temer's former advisor.

According to the Attorney General's Office and the Federal Police, there is evidence that the so-called ports decree, signed by Temer in May 2017, benefited Rodrimar—which operates in the port of Santos, historically an area of influence for the president and the PMDB party—in exchange for bribes.