The vice-president of Mato Grosso’s Court of Accounts (TCE-MT), Waldir Teis, has assigned cases handled by four suspended councillors to substitute auditors Luiz Henrique Lima, Luiz Carlos Pereira and Isaías Lopes da Cunha. The decision was made on Monday, after court president Sérgio Ricardo was arrested and four of the tribunal’s seven councillors were suspended by a judicial order.
The suspensions were ordered by Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) on Thursday. Alongside Ricardo, tribunal employees Roseli Loss, Adriangelo Barros Antunes, Grhegory Paiva Pires Morenira Maia, Gustavo Fernandes da Silva and Felipe José Glinke were also arrested. The suspended councillors are Guilherme Maluf, José Carlos Novelli, Alisson Alencar and Valter Albano da Silva, a member of the tribunal’s Permanent Sustainability Commission.
The Federal Police operation is investigating suspected corruption and possible irregularities in the management of administrative contracts and payments to tribunal employees. Investigators are also examining whether bank deposits and frequent cash withdrawals made at the tribunal are connected to the suspected activities.
The TCE-MT said the reassignment is intended to prevent its work from stopping and to avoid delays in processing and ruling on external oversight cases. It said no changes are planned to staffing in councillors’ offices or technical departments, and that further meetings on administrative and operational matters would take place during the week.
The operation, named Tomada de Contas, involved more than 180 federal police officers and the execution of six preventive arrest warrants and 26 search warrants in Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo. Authorities also took measures to access protected information and freeze assets linked to the investigation. The Federal Police seized more than R$5 million in cash, including foreign currency.
Sources: G1.