Motta defends an official targeted by the PF for embezzlement

The President of the Chamber of Deputies, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), defended, this Friday (12/12), Mariângela Fialek, employee of the Chamber and former advisor to deputy Arthur Lira (PP-AL), target of an operation by the Federal Police investigating suspicions of irregularities linked to parliamentary amendments.

In a statement, Motta said Mariângela, known as Tuca, is “competent, responsible and committed to the good management of public affairs.”

“The experience of the civil servant is recognized by all the bodies of the legislative and executive power that prepare and execute the federal budget. In fact, the work of the civil servant Mariângela Fialek has been fundamental in improving the systems for monitoring the proposal, indication and execution of parliamentary amendments,” he said.

The President of the Chamber also emphasized that the Chamber respects the decisions of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), but stressed that the decision signed by Minister Flávio Dino does not expressly indicate the practice of embezzlement of public funds by the official.

“There is no indication of any act of misappropriation of public funds. None. Any deviation, we insist, must be duly investigated. It is important not to confuse the political act of simply indicating the amendments of the parliamentary committees (which are not even binding and are subject to the discretionary judgment of the Executive Branch), with the final execution of these funds by their ultimate beneficiaries,” he said.

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PF operation

This Friday, the Federal Police launched Operation Transparency, authorized by the STF, to execute two search and seizure warrants in Brasilia. One of the targets was Mariângela Fialek, whose cell phone was seized. Currently she is assigned to the leadership of the Progressive Party in the House and continues to work in the field of publishing amendments, now advising Hugo Motta.

The operation investigates possible irregularities in the allocation of public resources through parliamentary amendments. The investigations are an offshoot of previous investigations into the so-called secret budget and involve an estimated 4.2 billion reais. Federal deputies and a senator made statements to the federal police during the investigation.

According to the PF, crimes such as embezzlement, false declarations, use of false documents and corruption are being investigated. The launch of the operation received a favorable opinion from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) and was authorized by Minister Flávio Dino, who also ordered the lifting of the secrecy of the file this Friday around noon.

The Attorney General of the Republic, Paulo Gonet, said in the archives that there are indications that the former adviser to Arthur Lira acted by controlling the indications of amendments allegedly diverted for the benefit of a criminal organization. According to him, the Federal Police’s request is supported by statements, police analyzes and telematic data which would indicate the role of the investigated party in the allocation and distribution of resources.