The Pernambuco State Court of Justice (TJPE) files lawsuit against Daniel Coelho.
State Representative Daniel Coelho (PSDB-PE) is the target of a criminal action brought by the Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE), continuing the analysis of the "Cold Invoice Scandal"; Coelho is accused of embezzling R$ 18 in funds during his time as a city councilor in Recife, in the same action that involved 23 other parliamentarians; the process was opened after the 15 members of the Court unanimously agreed to reopen the investigations; the parliamentarian's name is being considered as one of the possible candidates for vice-governor on a ticket headed by the PSB, should the two parties form an alliance at the state level.
Pernambuco 247 - State Representative Daniel Coelho (PSDB-PE) is the target of a criminal action brought by the Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE), continuing the analysis of the "Cold Invoice Scandal." Coelho is accused of embezzling R$ 18 in funds during his time as a city councilor in Recife, in the same case that involved 23 other parliamentarians. The process was opened after the 15 members of the Court unanimously agreed to reopen the investigations. The parliamentarian's name is being considered for the vice-governor position on a ticket headed by the PSB, should the two parties form an alliance at the state level.
The action, denounced by the Public Prosecutor's Office of Pernambuco (MPPE), is based on evidence of authorship and materiality in the complaint filed by the Attorney General of Justice, Aguinaldo Fenelon de Barros. According to the sentence decreed, the amount of R$ 18 returned by the deputy regarding this matter proves the parliamentarian's involvement in the case. “As the defense itself affirms, the parliamentarian repaid the illicitly diverted funds, which undoubtedly demonstrates his involvement in the case. In these terms, the Special Court accepts the formulated complaint, in order to initiate the present criminal action,” highlighted a passage from the text.
In his defense, Coelho highlighted the approval of the State Court of Auditors (TCE) regarding the expenses and assured that the action was a continuation of an older process, which also involved deputies Francismar Pontes (PSB), Eriberto Medeiros (PTC), Gustavo Negromonte (PMDB), and Silvio Costa Filho (PTB), at the time when they were city councilors. According to the politician, all those involved have already been acquitted in the process, a decision accepted by Fenelon. Coelho also stated that at the time of the return of the R$ 18, "if there were irregularities, the City Council should be reimbursed."
The "Cold Receipts Scandal," as the case became known, came to light after an audit conducted by the TCE (Court of Accounts of the State of Recife) in 2008, which pointed to the use of fake and cloned receipts by 24 city councilors from Recife as justification for expenses with the reimbursement fund. Four years after the case was opened, the fact returned to the media when Daniel Coelho was launched as a candidate for mayor of Recife in 2012, by the PSDB (Brazilian Social Democracy Party).