The decision of the (Supreme Federal Court) that, Tuca, raises suspicions that the advisor improperly directed amendments under the order of the former president of the Chamber (PP-AL).
According to the minister, author of the decision, parliamentarians stated in statements given in the investigation that Tuca “acts directly in the operationalization of the forwarding of amendments, supposedly making them in the name of the former president of the , deputy Arthur Lira”.
“It was also found that, even after the change in the Presidency of the House, she remained in the role”, says the decision.
“Such circumstances provide strong evidence that the represented [Tuca] integrates an organized structure aimed at the improper direction of parliamentary amendments, supposedly acting under direct orders from the former presidency of the Chamber of Deputies, exercised by deputy Arthur Lira, a fact that is still under investigation.”
Tuca’s defense, who is currently an advisor to the PP leadership, said that her work is technical and denied irregularities. When contacted through the press office, Lira did not comment.
To determine this Friday’s operation, entitled Transparency, Dino was based on previous breaches of confidentiality and the testimonies of parliamentarians such as deputies José Rocha (União Brasil-BA), Glauber Braga (PSOL-RJ), Adriana Ventura (Novo-SP), Fernando Marangoni (União Brasil-SP) and Dr. Francisco (PT-PI) and senator Cleitinho Azevedo (Republicanos-MG).
The president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), also released a statement in defense of Tuca. “Servant Mariângela Fialek is a competent, responsible technician and committed to the good management of public affairs. The servant’s experience is recognized by all bodies of the Legislative and Executive Branch that prepare and execute the federal budget”, he stated.
In the text, released after meeting with deputies on Friday night (12), the president of the Chamber also defended the parliamentary amendments and improvements made by Congresos to improve the transparency of these resources. He also said that this Friday’s operation did not investigate deviations.
“The Chamber of Deputies respects the Federal Supreme Court and all decisions made by it. It highlights, however, that a careful and correct reading of the decision made by the Illustrious Minister Flávio Dino reveals that there is no indication of any act of misuse of public funds. None”, said Motta.
The (Attorney General’s Office) expressed support for the operation. The attorney general said that the PF’s request had “significant elements, materialized in various statements and police analyses, suggestive of the defendant Mariângela Fialek’s illicit actions.”
According to Gonet, it “expects to exercise control over indications diverted from amendments resulting from the secret budget for the benefit of a probable criminal organization focused on committing functional deviations and crimes against the public administration and the national financial system.”
One of the measures requested by the PF and authorized by Dino was the search and seizure at Tuca’s workplace, in the Chamber.
According to the minister, the measure “proves to be compatible with the principles of necessity and proportionality, as it is essential for the adequate deepening of ongoing investigations”.
“At this point, it is important to highlight that the search at the workstation in the Chamber of Deputies is justified by the fact that it maintains greater evidentiary potential, considering that the actions under suspicion would be undertaken precisely in the context of the routine functional performance of the person being investigated in the Legislative House”, he stated.
He ordered Tuca’s removal from “any activity or action relating to parliamentary amendments, until the investigations are concluded.”
According to the PF, suspicions of crimes of embezzlement, ideological falsehood, use of false documents and corruption are being investigated.
In a statement, Tuca’s lawyers state that she is an experienced professional with no history of party affiliation and currently performs functions in the technical organization of the budget.
“In this condition, he was technically responsible for organizing parliamentary amendments, in the exact terms of what was decided by the presidency of the House and by all party leaders without distinction (college of leaders). His actions were strictly technical, non-partisan and impersonal”, says the defense note, signed by lawyers Luis Inácio Adams, who was the Union’s attorney general, and Maria Claudia Bucchianeri, former minister of the TSE (Superior Electoral Court).
They also state that all of Mariângela Fialek’s working material is public and that all information contained therein, regarding indications for amendments, is forwarded to the Secretariat of Institutional Relations of the Presidency of the Republic, “where it can also be found, in addition to being published on the Transparency Portal, as determined by the Federal Supreme Court”.
“It is important to mention that Mariângela Fialek is not accused of committing any functional or criminal irregularity, and that the objective of the measure carried out today was to access information related to the role she performs in the Chamber of Deputies, regarding the indications, by deputies, of funds for amendments. Such information, please note, is now public.”
At the end of 2024, the PF opened an investigation on Dino’s orders to investigate the payment of R$4.2 billion in parliamentary amendments by the Chamber. At the time, the minister decided to suspend the transfers.
He had responded to a PSOL representation that cited a letter signed by 17 party leaders from the Chamber and forwarded to the federal government detailing the indication of 5,449 commission amendments.
This set of amendments would take place, according to PSOL, “without prior approval and formal registration by the committees, under the pretext of ‘ratifying’ the indications previously presented by the members of the committees”.
In practice, the list of 17 party leaders in the Chamber changed the allocation of committee amendments without approval from the collegiate bodies. The government’s Civil House (PT) approved the maneuver.
