Electoral Court disapproves of campaign finance report by Rosângela Moro, elected federal deputy.

By Thiago Domenici, Public Agency -  The technical area of ​​the Regional Electoral Court (TRE) of São Paulo issued an opinion disapproving the electoral campaign accounts of federal deputy Rosângela Wolff Moro (União Brasil), wife of senator Sérgio Moro (União Brasil), whose campaign accounts were also recently challenged. Rosângela was elected with 217 votes.

The report, signed this Thursday (8), states that his campaign did not clarify irregular electoral expenses with resources from the Party Fund totaling R$ 854 thousand reais, irregular electoral expenses paid with resources from the Special Campaign Financing Fund totaling R$ 1089.018,01. There were also resources of unidentified origin in the amount of R$6.845 and campaign surpluses in the amount of R$ 17,582.

The opinion from the Regional Electoral Court (TRE), obtained exclusively by Agência Pública, is 22 pages long and states that Rosângela's campaign had already been asked to present "clarifications and supplementary evidence," which was done but did not convince the TRE about the transparency of the accounts.

>>> The Regional Electoral Court of São Paulo (TRE-SP) rejects Eduardo Suplicy's accounts.

Accountability reports are an important step in the electoral process. It is the responsibility of the Electoral Court to verify how the resources allocated to conducting an election were used by candidates and parties.

The congresswoman, who is originally from Curitiba and who described herself on her social media during the campaign as a fighter against corruption and a defender of "women's empowerment," declared total expenses amounting to R$ 2.811.738,57.

However, the Regional Electoral Court (TRE) pointed out flaws in the documentation of these total expenses, such as fuel costs—making it impossible to identify which vehicles were being used for the campaign—inconsistencies in the tax status of suppliers, undocumented personnel expenses, and expenses that failed to pass through the campaign's bank account—which is a legal requirement.

During the election for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies, Pública had already pointed out an unregistered lunch with businesspeople and potential voters at a steakhouse, payment delays to printing and marketing suppliers, indignation from the leaflet distribution team on the streets, and the hiring of Social QI for the campaign, the same social media monitoring company denounced in the iFood hidden advertising scandal, also revealed by Pública.

The unregistered lunch with businesspeople and potential voters at a steakhouse is also mentioned in the electoral court document.

“It was identified that the candidate received a donation estimated in money, consisting of the organization of an event, with the provision of a meal, for her to present her campaign platform, in the amount of R$ 5.054,44 (0,17% of the total accumulated revenue – R$ 2.869.128,97), which was not adequately detailed, lacking the information listed in art. 53, item I, subparagraph “d”, of TSE Resolution no. 23.607/2019)”, says the excerpt from the TRE's opinion on the lunch without official registration revealed by Pública.

According to the Regional Electoral Court (TRE), "this is a serious inconsistency, potentially leading to disapproval, which denotes a lack of consistency and reliability in the accounts submitted, since, when subjected to other control elements capable of validating/confirming the information provided, it becomes impossible to attest to its reliability and the real origin of the declared resources, revealing evidence of omitted revenue." 

The TRE's opinion also states that Rosângela "had the opportunity to comment on all the points raised in this examination" and ordered the return of R$1,8 million of unidentified funds to the National Treasury after the final judgment of the decision regarding these accounts.

Consequences

The rejection of electoral accounts does not prevent the elected officials from being certified. However, the failure to present or the disapproval of accounts may result in the suspension of transfers from the Party Fund and the Special Campaign Financing Fund (FEFC), also known as the Electoral Fund, in addition to restrictions on the electoral clearance of candidates if they do not present their campaign accounts, explains the TSE (Superior Electoral Court). 

According to the court, the Electoral Public Prosecutor's Office may propose an electoral judicial investigation action to investigate the misuse, diversion or abuse of economic power or the power of authority, or the improper use of vehicles or means of social communication.

According to the TSE (Superior Electoral Court), political parties or coalitions also have the option of filing a complaint with the Electoral Court within 15 days of the certification of election results, reporting facts and indicating evidence, and requesting the opening of a judicial investigation to examine conduct related to the collection and expenditure of funds. If illicit fundraising or expenditure is proven, the candidate will be denied certification or revoked if certification has already been granted.

Rosângela Moro was contacted by Pública for comment on the TRE's decision to reject her accounts. If there is a response, this text will be updated.

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