Débora Zampier Reporter Agencia Brasil
Brasilia – The government’s chief prosecutor (“procurador-geral da República”), Roberto Gurgel, says he will open an investigation into whether or not former minister of Tourism, Pedro Novais, who resigned yesterday (September 14), was involved in the case of embezzlement at the ministry uncovered by the Federal Police known as Operation Voucher (“Operação Voucher”), wherein 36 ministry employees were arrested and charged. The crime consisted of misappropriation of public funds (“desvio de verbas”) destined to train tour guides in the state of Amapa. Instead the money went to non-existent companies (“empresas fantasmas”). Although the entire upper echelon at the ministry went to jail, Novais was spared because he was not minister when the actual crime occurred.
According to Gurgel, government attorneys (“Ministério Público”) will look into cases of improbity recently revealed and verify any criminal involvement of the former minister in the Operation Voucher case.
“There are cases of improper activities (“improbidade”) by the former minister and there is the Amapa scandal (Operation Voucher). There seems to be a connection between the two. We will examine the facts,” said Gurgel. “The seriousness of the charges against Novais will depend on whether or not he was involved in both.”
The newspaper Folha de S. Paulo also reported that a car Novais used (chauffeured by an employee of the Chamber of Deputies) belonged to a company that received R$159,000 between April 2009 and December 2010 from the office of deputy Pedro Novais when he in the Chamber of Deputies.
Gurgel declared that the charges against Novais were almost overwhelming in volume. If all the facts were true, he said, it would be another case of a politician mixing up his private life with public duties.
“That is something that has plagued Brazil ever since before the Republic,” declared the chief prosecutor.
Allen Bennett – translator/editor The News in English
Link - Ministério Público vai apurar se Novais participou de fraudes reveladas pela Operação Voucher
