The strongman of the current Lula da Silva government, Rui Costa, chief minister of the Civil Chamber and one of the most important names in the Workers’ Party (PT), is under investigation by the Federal Police on suspicion of fraud in the procurement of respirators during the Covid-19 pandemic. The investigation, which was conducted in secret but was revealed to the press on Wednesday, is in the final stages of collecting evidence and statements and places Rui Costa at the center of the scandal.
According to the investigation, Rui Costa, then governor of the state of Bahia, who ruled for two consecutive terms from 2015 to 2022, authorized the purchase of 300 respirators in April 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, from a company with no history. or proven experience in this field, ignored all deadlines and precautions that a public service must observe, and, among other things, authorized full payment in advance for a bulk acquisition. The deal cost the state treasury nine million euros, and the owner of the benefiting company, who agreed to cooperate with the courts in exchange for a reduced sentence, told the Federal Police that she paid two million euros to a businessman who brokered the deal and facilitated all negotiations, saying, that acts on behalf of Rui Costa.
Despite full prepayment, the respirators were never delivered, especially since the company was unable to do so. Of the nine million spent by the Bahian government, only 1.8 million was recovered, returned to the businesswoman as part of an agreement signed with the courts.
Rui Costa, in addition to being governor of Bahia, was at the time president of the Consórcio Nordeste, a group of states in northeastern Brazil that banded together to facilitate procurement and action against Covid-19, and had full emergency powers. acquisitions. He denies any involvement in the fraud, claims it is not his responsibility to be directly involved in this type of business, and adds, as he often does in response to the criticism he now receives as chief minister of the Lula da Silva government, that it is all simple political persecution.
Author: Domingos Grilo Serrinha This correspondent in Brazil
Source: CM Jornal
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