Renan puts the Federal Police in charge of the royalties investigation.
The President of Congress is requesting "deepening the investigations" by the Federal Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office, so that they "analyze all hypotheses involving the case"; a complaint filed in March indicated that the signature of Congressman Zoinho (PR-ES) had been forged on the attendance list for the vote that overturned the presidential veto of the royalties law; today, the Legislative Police confirmed the irregularity; however, according to Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL), the perpetrator of the crime has yet to be identified; the senator does not consider annulling the session, since the fraud would not alter the final result of the vote.
247 - The president of Congress, Renan Calheiros (PMDB-AL), has just involved the Federal Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office in the investigations into the fraud recorded in the vote that overturned President Dilma Rousseff's veto of the royalties law. In a statement, the parliamentarian requests "a more thorough investigation" so that the perpetrator of the crime can be identified, something that was not possible with the investigation carried out by the Legislative Police.
In March, when the Chamber held the vote, the signature of Congressman Zoinho (PR-ES) was forged on the attendance list. The case was brought to light by 247, who discussed the matter with Congressman Anthony Garotinho (PR-RJ), who filed the complaint. Garotinho said he saw that Zoinho was not present, but that his name was on the list. He then sent a comparison of his colleague's signature to the president of Congress, pointing out the irregularity.
According to Renan Calheiros, "the National Congress will make available to the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Police everything necessary to elucidate the fraud and identify the perpetrator, including videos, photographs, and any other documents in the institution's possession." He also dismissed the idea of annulling the vote. "The session remains valid since the aforementioned vote did not interfere with the outcome of the vote," he justified.
Read below Renan Calheiros' statement on the matter:
The President of the National Congress expects and counts on the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Police to thoroughly analyze all hypotheses surrounding the case.
In any inquiry or investigation, the first question to be answered is "who benefits from the crime?". Unfortunately, the Legislative Police of the Chamber of Deputies failed to answer this crucial question.
The authorities, now involved in the unfolding investigation, need, as a priority, to identify and point out the perpetrator of the crime in order to rule out the main suspicion: that of intentional fraud with the objective of annulling the session.
The National Congress will provide the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Police with everything necessary to elucidate the fraud and identify the perpetrator, including videos, photographs, and any other documents in the institution's possession.
The session remains valid since the aforementioned vote did not interfere with the outcome of the election. The ballot box where the vote of the aforementioned deputy was deposited contained 39 voters. Even if the entire ballot box were invalidated, it would be insufficient to alter the final result.