Senate CPI breaks confidentiality of former engineer at mining company Braskem

Braskem’s Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI) approved this Tuesday (7) the breaking of telephone, telematic, tax and banking confidentiality of former mining company engineer Paulo Roberto Cabral de Melo, responsible for monitoring the safety of salt mines -gem in Maceio over the years.

The professional should have appeared before the Commission this Tuesday, but he missed the session. As a result, the CPI ordered him to be summoned forcibly next week.

The president of the Commission, senator Omar Aziz (PSD-MA), reported that the technician obtained habeas corpus from the minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Alexandre de Moraes, which allowed him to remain silent at the CPI, but not to be absent.

“He did not appear and will come next week under court for being absent from the CPI. So, next week, Mr. Paulo Roberto will be here, and we will take the legal and legal measures for him to come and testify and talk about the issues that interest the CPI”, stated Aziz.

At the end of the session, the Commission approved the request presented by the CPI rapporteur, senator Rogério Carvalho (PT-SE), breaking Paulo Cabral de Melo’s confidentiality.

The extraction of rock salt by the mining company in Maceió was responsible for the sinking of entire neighborhoods in the capital of Alagoas, which caused the displacement of at least 40 thousand people who had to abandon their homes.

With the breach of confidentiality, the CPI will be able to access which calls the Braskem technician has made since 2005, in addition to the duration of each call. You will also receive documents and emails stored on Google and information about your accounts on the Whasapp app and social networks, among other information.

Banking and tax secrecy have been broken since 1976, the year in which Paulo Cabral de Melo began working in mining in Maceió, until the present moment.

According to the rapporteur, breaking confidentiality is essential to determine Braskem’s responsibilities in the Maceió tragedy. “Due to the vast period in which he participated in the rock salt extraction activity, he is a central figure in the investigation of illicit acts committed by Braskem (and predecessor companies) in Maceió”, argued Carvalho.

Failed to monitor

The damage caused by rock salt mining in Maceió could be avoided, according to the former director of the Brazilian Geological Survey (SGB), Thales de Queiroz Sampaio, argued at the CPI this Tuesday. According to him, Braskem did not respect the required safety standards.

“These plans drawn up by mining engineer Paulo Cabral – who I know is a renowned professional – by themselves would not guarantee the exploration of the mine in a sustainable manner”, he stated, adding that “the monitoring part was missing, the part of constantly monitoring , by various methods”.

Historic

Since 2019, almost 40,000 people have had to leave their homes due to fear of earthquakes that created cracks in properties in the region. According to the Brazilian Geological Survey (CPRM), the exploration of 35 rock salt mines by Braskem was responsible for leaving thousands of people homeless and transforming previously busy and populated neighborhoods into practically deserted places. In December last year, tremors once again alerted families who had not yet left the region.