Inquiry investigated the diversion of function of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, used for illegal spying and political purposes during the past government; Federal Police ended the findings on Tuesday (17)
A concluded on Tuesday (17), the inquiry that learned the equipment of the for political purposes during the government of . According to investigations, the intelligence agency was used in illegal spying against opponents during the past government. The PF indicted the former president, Rio councilor Carlos Bolsonaro (PL) and federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ), general director of the agency in the period. Also included among the defendants are the current director general of ABIN, Federal Delegate Luiz Fernando Corrêa, appointed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT), and the number two of the agency, Alessandro Moretti.
The PF points out that there was a “collusion” between the current management of ABIN and the previous direction to prevent illegal monitoring from coming to public. Corrêa is a trusted name of the PT and had already headed the PF between 2007 and 2001, during Lula’s second presidential term. Since investigations, the case is known as “parallel abin”. ABIN is an organ for the production of strategic information to the Planalto Palace. The PF survey found the existence of a “parallel” nucleus, with the structure of the organ, for the production of steps that met the political and personal interests of Jair Bolsonaro and his family. Among the illicit activities of the “parallel Abin” are illegal spying against opponents of the former president.
The PF also identified the use of the parallel apparatus for activities of the “Hate Office”, revealed by Estadão in 2019. The group, coordinated by Carlos Bolsonaro, specialized in defaming reputations of Jair Bolsonaro’s political enemies and disseminates false information on social networks. According to the PF, among those illegally monitored, there are ministers Alexandre de Moraes, Dias Toffoli, Luís Roberto Barroso and Luiz Fux, from the Supreme Court (STF), former Sao Paulo governor João Doria, and federal deputies Arthur Lira (PP-AL) and Rodrigo Maia (União Brasil-RJ), former presidents of the House.
In October 2023, PF launched Operation Last Mile, whose name refers to the “Spy” First Mile software, developed by an Israeli company and specializing in cell phones. According to the investigation, the program was used 60,000 times by Abin between 2019 and 2023, with a peak of access in 2020, the year of municipal elections. Months later, in January 2024, Alexandre Ramagem’s addresses were targets of search and seizure in the approximate surveillance operation. Bolsonaro and Ramagem are defendants in the Supreme Court for the attempt of a coup after the 2022 elections. According to the report of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), ABIN was arose during the management of former director general for the production of slanderous dossiers to the electronic voting system.
*With information from Estadão Content
