CGU opens investigations against those dismissed from DNIT.

Brazil's Comptroller General's Office (CGU) today opened seven more investigations against former directors of the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT) who were removed from their posts on suspicion of corruption, embezzlement of public funds, and influence peddling. One of the targets is the agency's former executive secretary, José Henrique Sadok de Sá, who was removed after a report published by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo revealed that his wife's company, Ana Paula Araújo, won contracts worth at least R$ 18,9 million to carry out road construction projects in Roraima.

Another open investigation is a patrimonial inquiry to investigate possible illicit enrichment of Mauro Barbosa, former chief of staff to former Minister of Transport Alfredo Nascimento, who resigned amid the allegations. A report published by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo on July 6 revealed that the official was building a 1.300-square-meter mansion in Lago Sul, an upscale neighborhood in Brasília, valued at R$ 4 million. Barbosa is suspected of being one of the operators of the bribery scheme set up by the PR party within the Ministry.

A third investigation is an administrative disciplinary process to determine the responsibility of the former general coordinator of Road Operations at DNIT, Luiz Cláudio Varejão, in the execution of cargo weighing services without contractual coverage, by the company Engespro. One of the last affected by the "cleanup" ordered in the sector by President Dilma Rousseff, Varejão will face, along with Sadok, another disciplinary process for acknowledging the debt of the Rodaviva Consortium without proof of service execution.

Debt acknowledgment is one of the most common ways of misappropriating public funds. If guilt is proven, the three directors may have their suspension converted into dismissal for cause, in addition to facing an action for administrative misconduct, for the purpose of compensating the public treasury for damages. Another process will investigate irregularities in several bidding processes with evidence of favoritism towards certain companies, with the alleged involvement of the civil servant Marcelino Augusto Santos Rosa.

There is still an open investigation into possible overpricing in road construction projects involving the use of so-called spreadsheet manipulation and the alleged involvement of the DNIT's Road Construction Coordinator, Luiz Munhoz Prosel. The investigations should be completed within 30 days. Some of these cases, such as those involving Sadok and Barbosa, were already underway at the Ministry of Transport, but have all been transferred to the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union). The law recommends that this type of investigation not be conducted by the agency where the events occurred.