PF and CGU launch operation to combat City Hall fraud in Mato Grosso do Sul

With the aim of investigating alleged crimes committed by the city hall of Três Lagoas, in Mato Grosso do Sul, the Federal Police (PF) and the General Comptroller of the Union (CGU) launched, this Thursday, the 9th, the Operation Touchstone. According to investigations, the municipal management improperly contracted engineering services, causing damage to the public administration. The indictees, kept under secrecy, are being investigated for bid fraud, embezzlement and criminal association. O Estadão He contacted the city hall, but received no response.

Based on an audit carried out by the Regional Comptroller of the Union in Mato Grosso do Sul, investigators found that the contracted company did not represent the most advantageous option for the municipality. Even so, between 2017 and 2021, the city of Três Lagoas paid R$106,700 to the organization under investigation. Part of this amount would have been transferred by the federal government and should have been allocated to the municipality’s health sector.

By decision of the 1st Court of Federal Justice of Três Lagoas, which responds to the joint judicial representation of the PF, the Federal Public Ministry and the Public Ministry of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, the blocking of around R$ 23 million in assets of each of those indicted and the execution of 20 search and seizure warrants.

Of the total, 19 warrants were served in four cities in the State, five in Três Lagoas, seven in Campo Grande, six in Coxim and one in Naviraí, and one of them in Florianópolis, in the State of Santa Catarina, where, according to the PF to the Estadão, connections were highlighted with those involved who work for both the private institution and the public body. 80 federal police officers and eight CGU employees participated in the operation.

Still according to the investigation, in addition to overbilling and non-compliance with the bidding process, the city hall also failed to carry out part of the works and services in the city’s educational units. Shell companies were also identified that were used to enable financial transactions between those investigated.