The deputy and leader of the PL in the Chamber of Deputies, Sóstenes Cavalcante (PL-RJ), spoke this Friday (19/12), after being the target of a search and seizure by Operation Galho Fraco and declared that the almost half a million reais seized from his home was due to the sale of a property in Minas Gerais. The operation in which the parliamentarian was the target is investigating the misappropriation of public resources from parliamentary quotas.
During the operation, the Federal Police (PF) seized approximately R$430,000 in cash in an apartment rented by the deputy, in the central area of Brasilia (DF). According to the parliamentarian, the sum of R$430,000 found in his hotel room is a legal resource and the result of the sale of a property.
“Learn one thing: the money from corruption does not appear sealed, identified and officially collected in your residence. Whoever wants to live from corruption puts it elsewhere. I sold a property, the property was paid to me with legal money, it is sealed, it has its origins, so I have nothing to fear,” he stressed.
According to Sóstenes, the property was acquired by him after 2022 and he recently sold it, receiving the buyer’s money in cash. When asked who purchased the property, the MP did not provide their identity.
According to the PL leader, he received the money recently and has not yet had time to deposit it in a bank due to his professional obligations.
In addition to the PL leader, federal deputy Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ) was also the target of the operation.
Sóstenes attributed the action against him to his defense of having summoned businessman Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, son of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to the INSS CPMI. “I want to reiterate, I challenge President Lula here, to bring Lulinha, the senator, the vice president of the Lula government to the Senate, to open the chamber, to look into the chambers and to explain to the Brazilian people how I am doing. Do you know why I am doing this? Because those who should not be afraid.”
Low Branch Operation
This Friday (19/12), the Federal Police (PF) launched Operation Galho Fraco, which aims to deepen investigations into the misappropriation of public resources arising from parliamentary quotas. The targets of the search and seizure are federal deputies Sóstenes Cavalcante and Carlos Jordy (PL-RJ).
The PF executed seven search and seizure warrants issued by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) in the Federal District and Rio de Janeiro.
The PL parliamentarians had their cell phones seized during the operation. A large sum of money was also seized, including R$400,000 from Sóstenes.
The PF’s action is the result of an operation launched in December 2024 and investigates crimes of embezzlement, money laundering and criminal organization.
During the 2024 operation, the advisors of federal deputies Carlos Jordy and Sóstenes Cavalcante had already been the target of the Federal Police’s Operation Rent a Car, which investigated the use of parliamentary quota resources for irregular payments.
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