First “unfit” individual attacks the integrity of the CGU.

247 - Five years ago, contractor Zuleido Veras, former director of OAS and owner of the construction company Gautama, was in a situation similar to that of Delta, owned by Fernando Cavendish. Targeted by a Federal Police operation, "Navalha," Zuleido was declared ineligible by the Comptroller General of the Union in record time. At the time, Jorge Hage defended what he called an "exemplary measure" to prevent similar situations from recurring.

In the newspapers, Gautama was accused of trying to "defraud the PAC" (Growth Acceleration Program). Today, curiously, it is Delta, the largest company in the Growth Acceleration Program, that may be declared ineligible – the deadline for its defense ends next Tuesday. And the CGU (Brazilian Comptroller General's Office) finds itself in a difficult position because it can hardly behave differently with Delta than it did with Gautama.

For Zuleido Veras's construction company, which in 2007 was similar in size to Delta, the consequences were disastrous. The declaration of ineligibility was equivalent to a death certificate – prohibited from participating in new bids, he is only trying to recover the amounts owed for contracts already completed in the past. And, to this day, his case has not been judged. In other words, he was banned from the public works market without the Judiciary having determined whether the evidence gathered by the Federal Police constitutes evidence of a crime or not. After Operation Navalha, which brought down the former Minister of Mines and Energy, Silas Rondeau, even former President Lula condemned the Federal Police's actions in the case.

Closely following the Delta case, Zuleido Veras decided to break his silence of almost five years and spoke to 247 about the actions of the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union). He then launched an attack against Minister Jorge Hage himself. Read below the main excerpts from his testimony:

247 – Why was Gautama declared ineligible?

Zuleido Veras – It was all a setup. Competitors had an interest in targeting us. We were the cheapest and fastest-growing construction company in the country. Of everything the Federal Police presented, nothing could serve as evidence. That's why, for five years, they haven't been able to judge the case. The complaint wasn't even analyzed. Both the Federal Police and the Comptroller General's Office (CGU) were influenced by private interests. In our case, we were driven out of the market without any legal process.

247 – Are you questioning the integrity of the CGU itself?

ZV – Yes, I am questioning the integrity of the CGU (Brazilian Comptroller General's Office) and Minister Jorge Hage. By declaring us ineligible, he was not defending republican interests. The reports that formed the basis for our ineligibility were all fraudulent. They were signed by an accountant, not by engineers. Works that had already been validated by the Federal Court of Accounts several times began to be questioned.

247 – Was there an opportunity for defense?

ZV – Minimal. The CGU (Brazilian Comptroller General's Office) did everything in record time, and we had to defend ourselves without knowing what we were being attacked for. We didn't even have access to the investigation. Today, everyone knows that Operation Navalha was an arbitrary act, but our company was banned from the market. We were excluded from the market based on fabricated, fraudulent, and illegal recordings. There are even expert analyses by Ricardo Molina, from Unicamp, demonstrating that the recordings were falsified.

247 – What were the consequences for Gautama?

ZV – It was dramatic. The company disappeared. Today, we would certainly be making over R$ 2 billion a year. But we've been out of work for five years because a minister decided to declare us an ineligible company. It was all done with cruelty and premeditation. They declared us ineligible on my birthday, and they did it deliberately.

247 – Do you think Delta should be declared ineligible?

ZV – Everyone has the right to a defense. And a declaration of ineligibility is a death certificate, giving the State absolute power. The Minister of the Comptroller General's Office (CGU) is not a judge, and Brazil is a democracy. The personal will of a minister should not be enough to decree the death of a company. After all, who corrects the inspector general?

247 – Who benefits from this kind of stance from the CGU?

ZV – Perhaps the big construction companies are to blame, but you have to ask those who actually did it. Without Gautama, all the projects we were involved in became more expensive. We had the cheapest and most difficult projects in the country, both in the "Light for All" program and at Infraero. It was a real struggle. Without Delta, it's possible that concentration will get even worse in Brazil.

247 – Did Gautama receive what it was owed under past contracts?

ZV – Nothing. We are due R$ 170 million to receive.

247 – Was the disqualification a way of institutionalizing default?

ZV – No. Governments aren't defaulters. They want to contract the work, they want to receive the service, and they want to pay for it. It was a way to kill a serious company. We've been out of work for five years because a minister decided we should be banned. But if there were reasons for this, why doesn't the Judiciary evaluate the case?

247 – Why?

ZV – Because there isn't a single shred of evidence of corruption. There's nothing. And everyone knows that Operation Navalha was a fraud. What they should investigate is who carried out Operation Navalha and why they did it.