Wilder emerges in allegations regarding the "My House, My Life" program.

Goiás247_ A report in Istoé magazine indicates that Orca Incorporadora, owned by Goiás senator Wilder Morais (DEM), is building housing for the federal government's Minha Casa, Minha Vida program that does not meet minimum safety specifications. Wilder's construction company, which assumed office after the removal of the incumbent, Demóstenes Torres, is being investigated by the Public Prosecutor's Office for constructing houses with metal sheets in the Alda Tavares residential complex in Nerópolis (GO).

According to Istoé magazine, the Public Prosecutor's Office got involved in the case after residents reported that electric shocks were a routine occurrence. One resident even revealed that his pet dog had been electrocuted in his son's room. (The text continues...)My home, my businessIn issue 2267, the magazine reports that Orca earned R$ 42 million in contracts with Caixa Econômica Federal by the end of 2012. In addition to Nerópolis, there are projects in Aparecida de Goiânia.

The magazine says it contacted Wilder, but the senator did not return the calls.

Read the full report:

My home, my business

In a clear conflict of interest, parliamentarians profit from multi-million dollar contracts in the government's largest housing program. Politicians benefit from the sale of land and by having their own construction companies carry out the works.

By Josie Jeronimo

From a showcase of Dilma Rousseff's government to a target for oversight bodies, the "Minha Casa, Minha Vida" (My House, My Life) program has become a source of problems and fraud. In recent weeks, the newspaper "O Globo" reported that former employees of the Ministry of Cities were part of a scheme to win housing contracts intended for the poorest segments of the population. However, these former Cities Ministry employees are not the only ones profiting from one of the government's main social programs. An investigation by ISTOÉ magazine indicates that the housing policy created to help the poorest also enriches members of Congress. These parliamentarians are taking advantage of a real estate market that has already generated R$ 36 billion in public funds for the construction of 1,05 million houses and apartments for low-income families. Data from the Residential Leasing Fund (FAR) – a financial reserve composed of FGTS (Brazilian Severance Indemnity Fund) resources and managed by Caixa Econômica Federal – shows that parliamentarians from different parties have obtained financial advantages from the program in two ways: through the sale of land for the construction of housing units and through obtaining multi-million dollar contracts for works carried out by their own construction companies. Among them are Senators Wilder Morais (DEM-GO) and Edison Lobão Filho (PMDB-MA), son of the Minister of Mines and Energy and president of the Senate Budget Committee, and Representatives Inocêncio Oliveira (PR-PE), Augusto Coutinho (DEM-PE), and Edmar Arruda (PR-PR).

Prosecutor Marinus Marsico, representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), has no doubt about the irregularity of such practices. According to him, the use of housing financing from a government program by companies owned by parliamentarians constitutes, at the very least, a conflict of interest. “A parliamentarian is a public entity. Thus, when signing a contract with public funds, they are on both sides of the contract, because they are responsible for managing or overseeing these funds. There is an incompatibility. It is not possible to serve two masters. Either you are public administration or you are a company,” criticizes Marinus. On Tuesday the 23rd, President Dilma herself admitted the possibility of irregularities in the program and was emphatic in saying that the government has an obligation to investigate them.

The cases highlighted in the report, according to the prosecutor, may only be a sample of a much larger crime. It is common practice to place companies and properties, such as land, in the names of third parties, which makes oversight difficult. But in Pernambuco, the link with the benefiting parliamentarian is direct. In the state, nine thousand of the 20 houses promised by the federal government program have already been delivered. Real estate speculation is intense, as is the supply of enormous areas for the construction of social housing. Despite this, the construction company Duarte, a local contractor that won the contract to build 1.500 houses in the municipality of Serra Talhada, chose precisely the land of Congressman Inocêncio Oliveira (PR-PE) to build the housing.

The 34-hectare area was acquired by the congressman 30 years ago, before being expropriated by the National Department of Works Against Drought (Dnocs). It was part of a farm, which was divided into several lots. The lot in question was declared by Inocêncio to the Electoral Court in 2010 for the value of R$ 151. In the same year, he sold the land to the construction company of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My House, My Life) program for R$ 2,6 million, according to records from the 1st notary office of Serra Talhada. That is, a spontaneous appreciation of 1.600%. Contacted by ISTOÉ, Inocêncio confirmed the transaction, but said he received "only R$ 1 million," implying that the construction company registered a different value. The congressman also said he was unaware of the use of the area. "I have nothing to do with Caixa Econômica Federal (a Brazilian bank). I sold it to a private company," he stated. Coincidence or not, the deal was closed at the end of 2010, at a time when the city of Serra Talhada was headed by Carlos Evandro, from the PR party, a colleague of Inocêncio.

In Recife, federal deputy Augusto Coutinho (DEM) is also trying to take advantage of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My House, My Life) program, following the example of Inocêncio Oliveira. The government is negotiating with the congressman the purchase of a 2.400-square-meter area located in the Campo Grande neighborhood for the construction of affordable housing. The land is reportedly registered in the name of his construction company, Heco. The precise values ​​of the negotiation have not been disclosed. Coutinho has already stated that he will not accept less than R$ 300 to cede the land for the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program. The case, however, is likely to end up in court. The city hall, controlled by the PSB party, claims that the area belongs to the Navy.

Another trick used by parliamentarians to profit from the federal program is to close contracts with their own construction companies for the construction of housing units. According to data from Caixa Econômica Federal, obtained by ISTOÉ, one of the barons of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program is Senator Edison Lobão Filho (PMDB-MA), president of the Senate Budget Committee. By the end of last year, he had already pocketed R$ 13,5 million through contracts signed by his construction company, Difusora Incorporação e Construção. One of Edinho's (as he is known in the Senate) popular housing projects, financed by the Residential Leasing Fund, is being built in the municipality of Estreito, 700 kilometers from São Luís.

The municipality has attracted millions of dollars in investments since it received the construction site for the Estreito hydroelectric plant in 2007 – a R$ 1,6 billion project from the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC). The local population has grown by 60%, jumping from 25,000 inhabitants to 40,000. Last month, Caixa Econômica Federal opened its first branch in the municipality and announced investments of R$ 57 million to build 1,000 houses.

In Paraná, in at least three municipalities, properties from the "Minha Casa, Minha Vida" (My House, My Life) program bear the seal of Cantareira Construções. The construction company belongs to Congressman Edmar Arruda (PR-PR). Cantareira received R$ 65,5 million from Caixa Econômica Federal alone by the end of 2012. And the congressman's company closed a new contract to build 400 houses in the municipality of Paranavaí, a deal worth R$ 30 million. This time, the funds will come from Banco do Brasil. Combining the roles of legislative representative and president of the Cantareira Group, Arruda travels to municipalities in the state discussing projects to expand the "Minha Casa, Minha Vida" program with mayors. At an event in the Ivatuba City Council (PR) at the end of 2011, Arruda was honored for announcing a commitment of R$ 300 from a parliamentary amendment for the city. At the same meeting, he took the opportunity to lobby for the construction of 140 houses under the "Minha Casa, Minha Vida" program. The congressman-contractor himself, without any embarrassment, explained to the councilors that the municipality would need to raise R$ 2,3 million through the government program to get the housing projects off the ground. When contacted, he claimed that he was once a partner in the company, but is no longer part of it. Although, in the meeting with the mayors, he is presented as the president of the Cantareira Group, Arruda says that the company "is in the hands of his family," as if that resolved the conflict of interest. Arruda further argues "that the money from the Minha Casa, Minha Vida Program is not public and comes from resources originating from funds such as the FAT and the FGTS."

In the state of Goiás, the story repeats itself. In Nerópolis, a municipality near Goiânia, Orca Incorporadora is building the Alda Tavares residential complex. The construction company belongs to Senator Wilder Morais (DEM), who took over Demóstenes Torres's office after his removal from office due to his involvement with the illegal gambling operator Carlinhos Cachoeira. By the end of 2012, Morais's company had earned R$ 42,1 million in contracts with Caixa Econômica Federal alone. The Nerópolis project is being investigated by the Goiás Public Prosecutor's Office after residents reported that the houses there are made with metal sheets. Electric shocks are routine; one of the beneficiaries of the program said that his dog died from electrocution in his son's room. The senator's construction company also has low-income housing projects in Aparecida de Goiânia. Contacted by ISTOÉ, Morais did not return calls. Caixa Econômica Federal also did not respond to requests for comment. Former superintendent of Caixa Econômica Federal, José Carlos Nunes, says that the methods for selecting land and companies for the Minha Casa, Minha Vida program are still not uniform. "Everything is left to Caixa's discretion, which chooses whomever it wants," criticizes Nunes.