Companies under investigation for using ‘oranges’ in fraud scheme in RS lunch tenders

The Rio Grande do Sul Civil Police carried out, this Friday (12), an operation against a group of companies suspected of rigging public tenders related to cleaning, catering and kitchen services subcontracted by the state government. Eight companies were the target of this action, which is investigating fraud offenses due to the competitive nature of calls for tenders and criminal association. The names of the companies were not disclosed.

During the offensive, 10 search and seizure warrants were executed on properties located in Porto Alegre, Alvorada and Canoas. There was also a blockage of approximately 60 million reais in bank accounts, in addition to the unavailability of properties and vehicles linked to those under investigation. There were no arrests.

According to the Office of Accounting and General State Control (CAGE), contracts signed with the companies investigated can exceed 30 million reais. The agency said that, so far, there was no evidence of the involvement of members of the state government in this project.

According to delegate Augusto Zenon, head of the investigation, the businessmen had structured a system to manipulate electronic auctions and electronic prices, simulating competition to guarantee the maintenance of contracts with the public administration. According to the Civil Police, in 175 tender lots the same companies participated jointly, with contracts totaling more than 64 million reais.

The investigation began with technical analyzes carried out by the State Attorney General’s Office and CAGE, which identified patterns considered irregular. Among the signs noted are the simultaneous participation of companies from the same IP address, synchronized changes of partners and directors, rotation of proposals in different competitions and personal and operational links between company members.

Investigations also showed that part of the company’s structures were made up of “oranges”, used to hide the real controllers. In one case, a company was owned, for about two years, by a person convicted of theft who used an electronic ankle bracelet, during which time it won 15 tenders and signed contracts worth more than 2 million reais. Another company had a homeless person as a formal partner with various criminal records.

According to the civil police, in addition to compromising the fairness of calls for tenders, this project would have caused losses to the public service. Investigations indicate that some companies did not have the operational capacity to execute contracts, accumulating failures and social responsibilities that ended up being assumed by the state.

All companies under investigation are or have been subject to administrative sanctions, such as temporary suspension of participation in tenders and declaration of unfitness.