After the crime, Beto Richa says: "There was no bad faith"
The government of Beto Richa (PSDB) is accused of carrying out an illegal maneuver to withdraw money from judicial accounts to pay state employees last month; the governor said that the withdrawals were made with the authorization of the Court of Justice and that he will return all the money withdrawn improperly; the use of non-tax deposits is prohibited by the National Council of Justice.
247 - After being accused of illegally withdrawing money from court-controlled accounts to pay state employees last month, the governor of Paraná, Beto Richa, said that "there was no bad faith" in the action and that the withdrawals were made with the authorization of the Court of Justice. He also said that he is checking the account data and will return all the money withdrawn improperly. A total of 2.049 accounts were involved, and R$ 153 million was transferred to the government.
The Richa administration has been facing a financial crisis: at the end of last year, it delayed payments to suppliers and halted construction projects due to lack of funds. Government goals were suspended, and a fundraising drive has been launched to bolster the treasury. "There was no bad faith or intention to misappropriate money that doesn't belong to the government. There was authorization from the Court of Justice. If there was a mistake, there is a reserve fund that immediately corrects this situation," said Richa.
Lawyers in Paraná representing clients entitled to receive these non-tax judicial deposits were informed by Caixa Econômica Federal that the government of Beto Richa (PSDB) withdrew the funds at the end of last year. This action is illegal and prohibited by the National Council of Justice (CNJ).
In addition to this accusation of irregularity, the Paraná state government failed to transfer to the Court of Justice (TJ) the 2% portion of revenues for December intended for the payment of court-ordered debts, even though it already had – legally – the tax-related judicial deposits in its possession – which, by law, must be used for this purpose. In other words, the funds were spent for another purpose. The government also moved the funds from the judicial deposits at Caixa Econômica Federal before the state law regulating access to the money was enacted.
Non-tax deposits are those that do not relate to legal disputes concerning taxes and often do not even involve the State. They need to be deposited into an account so that they can only be withdrawn when the legal battle between the parties comes to an end and no further appeals are possible.