Pimenta: Temer is the head of the Caixa gang.

by Conceição Lemes, from Viomundo

December 10, 2015. Fábio Cleto, recently dismissed from his position as vice-president of Caixa Econômica Federal by President Dilma Rousseff, is arrested in Operation Catilinárias, one of the phases of Lava Jato.

Cleto makes a plea bargain agreement and states that the money launderer Lúcio Bolonha Funaro and the then federal deputy and president of the Chamber, Eduardo Cunha (PMDB-RJ), led the scheme of collecting bribes from companies interested in obtaining loans from the Investment Fund of the Guarantee Fund for Length of Service (FI-FGTS).

It also says that, although he had the power to indicate the projects in which Caixa should invest, his decisions were actually guided by Cunha's convenience.

In December 2015, Operation Catilinárias also executed a search and seizure warrant at the official residence and office of Eduardo Cunha.

On July 1, 2016, Funaro was arrested. On October 19, Cunha was also arrested.

January 13, 2017, last Friday. Geddel Vieira Lima (PMDB-BA) is the target of Operation Cui Bono?, launched by the Federal Police, which is conducting search and seizure operations at properties belonging to the former minister in Bahia.

Geddel left Michel Temer's Government Secretariat on November 25, 2016, accused by the former Minister of Culture, Marcelo Calero, of pressuring for the approval of a real estate development in Salvador, in which he owned an apartment.

Operation Cui Bono? (“who benefits?”, in Latin) is an offshoot of Operation Catilinárias, carried out in December 2015. At the time, the Federal Police seized a disused cell phone at Cunha's house which, after being examined, ended up revealing the fraud scheme at Caixa Econômica Federal.

The device contained an intense exchange of electronic messages between Cunha and Geddel, who was vice-president of Caixa Econômica Federal's Corporate Banking division between 2011 and 2013.

A report by the Federal Police indicates that Geddel acted "in prior and harmonious agreement" with Cunha to facilitate the release of loans from Caixa Econômica Federal to companies and, in exchange, receive bribes.

A report by the Federal Police regarding Operation Cui Bono? mentions another ally of Michel Temer: the current vice-president of the Caixa government, Roberto Derziê de Sant'Anna.

He is identified as a participant in the bank's loan granting scheme, which operated through the payment of bribes.

Derziê appears in the part of the report that details the operation for the release of a R$ 50 million loan to the company Oeste Sul Empreendimentos Imobiliários, linked to the Comporte Participações group. Comporte belongs to the Constantino family, which controls Gol Linhas Aéreas.

Details: although Geddel and Derziê are very close to Michel Temer, the media behaves as if the president had nothing to do with them.

I spoke with federal deputy Paulo Pimenta (PT-RS) about this. Check out the exclusive interview:

Viomundo – Why this shielding?

Paulo Pimenta — This operation [Cui Bono?, which carried out search and seizure operations at Geddel's properties] directly targets Temer; he is the head of the gang.

Viomundo – On what basis do you make that statement?

Paulo Pimenta – Two episodes demonstrate this. On the cell phone seized at Eduardo Cunha's house in December 2015, there is a conversation between Funaro (codename Lucky), who was Cunha's operator, and Fábio Cleto (codename Gordon Gekko) about Geddel.

Funaro complains that he couldn't stand Geddel asking for money anymore. At one point, Funaro says: if Geddel doesn't stop, "I'm going to screw him over with Michel."

It's like when you catch a child doing something wrong and threaten: "I'm going to tell your father."

Or, when you want to put pressure on someone, you always refer to someone superior to them.

So the way they had to pressure Geddel into asking for less money was by threatening to tell Temer everything.

Following last Friday's arrest, another situation arose involving a controversy with Geddel. And again, the inference is the same: if he doesn't stop, we'll go to Temer. In the first case, it was about the FGTS (Brazilian employee severance fund). Now, it's about loans from Caixa Econômica Federal (a Brazilian bank), where Geddel was vice-president of corporate banking from 2011 to 2013.

So, there are two operations where Funaro explicitly states that Temer is the mastermind. From my point of view, a simple analysis of the Federal Police transcripts already demonstrates this.

Viomundo – Is that enough to say that Temer is the boss?

Paulo Pimenta – If that's not enough, let's move on to the next point. The Federal Police report on Operation Cui Bono? mentions the name of Roberto Derziê de San'Anna, the current vice-president of government at Caixa Econômica Federal.

Derziê emerged while working with Moreira Franco (PMDB-RJ). Later, he was promoted to vice-president of Caixa Econômica Federal.

When Dilma invited Temer [in 2015, when he was vice-president] to go to the SRI [Secretariat of Institutional Relations], he took Roberto Derziê with him to be the executive secretary.

Since Temer held both the vice-presidency and the SRI (Secretariat of Institutional Relations) simultaneously, in practice, it was Derziê who handled all the dealings with the deputies, senators, and the release of amendments.

When Temer leaves SRI, Geddel is dismissed from Caixa, who is put back in charge?

It's Derziê, replacing Geddel.

So, Derziê worked with Moreira Franco, Geddel, and Eliseu Padilha (PMDB-RS) at SRI.

When Temer took office, why wasn't Derziê immediately appointed vice-president of Caixa?

Because he stayed until the end, was fired by Dilma, and went into quarantine. Therefore, he could only be appointed at the end of 2016.

He returns to Caixa to occupy the vice-presidency of corporate banking, which is precisely the area that will deal with companies.

Viomundo – What does this demonstrate?

Paulo Pimenta — Selectivity. With all the information contained in the Federal Police report, why wasn't Derziê arrested or forcibly taken in for questioning? Why wasn't Geddel arrested or forcibly taken in for questioning either?

After all, they don't have parliamentary immunity, and people with far less involvement are imprisoned in Curitiba and Brasília.

Viomundo – Why?

Paulo Pimenta — It's a protection from the Justice system itself.

If they arrest Geddel or Derziê, they'll automatically arrest Temer.

Why didn't the media demand the heads of Geddel or Derziê?

Why did nobody – including the media – find it strange that Geddel, whom Funaro always refers to as "crocodile mouth," wasn't taken into custody?

Whichever of the two gets arrested will talk, will confess.

If they speak up, Temer will fall.

Look. If I, a congressman, am able to present this path to you with the information available, imagine what the Federal Police and Lava Jato could do.

Viomundo – Would all of this be known to both the Federal Police and Lava Jato?

Paulo Pimenta – Of course! If I, without the tools they have, am simply making the connections based on the reports, it's obvious they know. Everything I'm telling you here they know: Derzié is the link in the gang, and Temer is the boss.

Viomundo — Do they have the potential to be the next Cunha?

Paulo Pimenta — No. Cunha is a different scheme. Geddel and Derziê acted as intermediaries between Temer and Cunha.

There are three groups. One group is the Senate. Jucá [Romero Jucá, PMDB-RR] and Eunício [Eunício Oliveira, PMDB-CE] were in charge of the Senate's relationship with Temer, but mainly Jucá. Renan [Renan Calheiros, PMSD-AL] is operating in his own lane.

The core of the Chamber was led by Eduardo Cunha.

Geddel, Moreira Franco, and Padilha were working towards the interests of these two groups within the executive branch. They were already instruments of the PMDB when Temer was vice-president. They came from the PMDB with Temer into the presidential palace.

Viomundo — Does Temer control all three groups?

Paulo Pimenta — Temer, who presided over the party, managed those three groups within the PMDB. Padilha was president of the Ulisses Guimarães Foundation. Jucá was the vice-president. Renan was president of the Senate and Eduardo Cunha was president of the Chamber of Deputies.

And Temer managed all of that. He guaranteed Geddel an important position, and Moreira Franco another.

When he joined the core of the coup, he assembled a group with his three closest associates: Moreira Franco, the special secretary; Padilha, the Chief of Staff; and Geddel, the secretary-general. It was to this group that he brought the major privatization projects.

Viomundo – Is the media's silence really to shield Temer?

Paulo Pimenta — Exactly. As if Temer had nothing to do with these guys. If the Federal Police had even a minimum of consistency with the conduct they've shown in far less serious situations, they would have at least forcibly taken Geddel and Derziê in for questioning.

For me, this is further robust evidence of the selectivity, lack of criteria, and political use of the judiciary in the coup plot.

Just as the Supreme Court knew that removing Renan from the Senate would disrupt the coup, they know that if they arrest Geddel or Derziê, they'll be moving too close to Temer's control.

Viomundo – Does this apply to the Federal Police, Lava Jato, the Supreme Federal Court, and the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office?

Paulo Pimenta — Of course, for the command of all sectors of the Judiciary captured by the coup project.