The minister of the (Supreme Federal Court) suspended this Friday (5) Wanderlei Barbosa (), who was the target of an operation in September that investigated suspected deviations from parliamentary amendments during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Despite the existence of evidence of the patient’s participation in the illicit acts under investigation, no evidence was created with sufficient consistency to justify his removal from the position of governor of the state of Tocantins”, says the minister in his decision.
He also states that there is no contemporaneity between the central evidence involving Barbosa and his removal on the eve of an election year.
“Finally, with regard to the evidence of the practice of the crime of money laundering, it is necessary to deepen the investigations, so that the illicit origin of the resources used for the construction of the project is ascertained”, says the decision.
Kassio also states that removal is a serious measure for a politician with a mandate granted by popular vote.
“From this perspective, I think that maintaining the measure constitutes, in the present case, excessive intervention in the political and administrative sphere of the state of Tocantins, without the police authority having demonstrated the occurrence of an effective and current risk to public order or criminal prosecution”, stated the minister.
In a statement, the governor’s defense says that he “receives with serenity the decision issued by the Federal Supreme Court handed down today, which makes it possible for him to return to the position for which he was legitimately elected.”
Barbosa’s removal was determined by Minister Mauro Campbell, of the (Superior Court of Justice), and maintained by the court’s special court, made up of the 15 most senior ministers.
According to the PF, there was fraud in the supply of basic food baskets and frozen chicken purchased with this amount. The loss is estimated at R$73 million. The money would have been used to purchase luxury properties, purchase livestock and personal expenses.
At the time, the governor said in a statement that the determination was hasty and that there was no “definitive conclusion about any responsibility” on his part.
In November, the possible practice of embarrassing the investigation began.
There were searches at the addresses of the removed governor. The PF even asked for his arrest, but the STJ denied it.
The Federal Police said they had identified the payment of R$550,000 in alleged bribes to Wanderlei, related to a frozen chicken supply contract signed with a company.
The transfer in kind would have taken place on November 14, 2021, but the contract was neither executed nor paid off by the government.
According to investigations, the company was unable to fulfill the agreement. It delivered only 15,000 light chickens, instead of the expected 50,000 chickens, which resulted in non-performance of the contract. His defense has always denied any wrongdoing.
