The adopted son of the president (PT), Marcos Cláudio Lula da Silva, was the one who received the Federal Police team.
The PF went to Carla’s house in Campinas (SP) on Wednesday (13) to execute search and seizure warrants. According to the investigation, Lula’s former daughter-in-law worked to release, at the Ministry of Education, amounts to a company suspected of fraud in tenders and embezzlement of public funds.
The PF document states that the team was received at the house by Marcos Cláudio. “In addition to Mr. Marcos, Ms. Carla, Ms. Carla’s son and parents, Mr. Henrique and Ms. Lindalva were present at the property,” says the material. The information was published by the newspaper and confirmed by Uol.
Carla would have worked in favor of Life Tecnologia Educacional, located in the interior of São Paulo. The company received around R$70 million in contracts to supply kits and textbooks for São Paulo city halls. Marcos Cláudio is the son of former first lady Marisa Letícia and was adopted by President Lula.
The president’s former daughter-in-law went to Brasília several times, one of them in July 2024. According to the PF, the tickets were paid for by the owner of Life, André Mariano, and the dynamics of the scheduling shows that Carla “defended the interests” of the businessman “with public bodies, mainly in the search for resources and contracts”, says an excerpt from the decision that authorized the operation.
Carla and Marcos were married for almost 20 years. The PF team arrived at the house of Lula’s ex-daughter-in-law at around 6am on Wednesday. Agents seized her passport, a cell phone, a computer and a hardcover notebook.
Carla’s defense said that it requested access to the process and will speak out after full knowledge of the investigation. Lula’s son could not be reached for comment until the publication of this text.
A former partner of another of Lula’s sons was also included in the investigation. The PF cites the work of Kalil Bittar, former partner of Fábio Luiz Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, at Gamecorp, investigated in Lava Jato.
Carla is mentioned as one of the five “influential people in local and national politics”. These figures, according to the PF, would have been the contacts for Mariano, the owner of Life, to easily obtain multimillion-dollar contracts with city halls in the interior of São Paulo. In addition to her, this group includes secretaries of Education and Housing, as well as the deputy mayor.
In the Life owner’s diary, Carla is referred to as “Paulínia’s friend”, “daughter-in-law” and “Carla”, says the PF. The first mention of her in Mariano’s agenda would have occurred in January 2024, “suggesting involvement in legal or administrative negotiations”.
For the PF, “the evidence” points out that Lula’s ex-daughter-in-law “seems to have, or claim to have, influence on federal government decisions.” She would also have a good relationship in the São Paulo municipalities of Mauá, Diadema, Campinas, among others.
The police investigation shows that Life resold books to city halls at overpriced prices. The company would have purchased copies for amounts between R$1 and R$5, but passed them on for amounts between R$60 and R$80. “What can be concluded from the ‘cold’ analysis of the invoices is that Life Tecnologia would have profited at least R$50 million from the sale of books to these city halls, having received just over R$86 million, and spent R$32 million, supposedly, to purchase the goods”, says the PF document.
