The four Federal Revenue officers suspected of having illegally accessed and leaked confidential data from ministers of the Federal Supreme Court () and relatives avoided speaking out about the Federal Police operation.
According to the Federal Supreme Court, “several and multiple illicit accesses to the system of the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil were found, followed by subsequent leaks of confidential information”.
A Sheet He tried to contact the servers this Wednesday (18) by phone, through family members and in person at the addresses where they live, but there was no response. The four civil servants were removed from their positions, had their passports canceled and will give statements to the Federal Police.
One of the targets of the operation is Ricardo Mansano de Moraes, an auditor at the Federal Revenue Service currently linked to the agency’s secretariat in Presidente Prudente (SP). He lives with his wife in São José do Rio do Preto (440 km from São Paulo), in a luxury condominium. Documents, a notebook and a cell phone were seized at the property.
Mansano entered the public service in 1995 through a competitive examination. Last year, he joined the Tax Credit and Credit Law Management Team (Eqrat), an area of the body that manages the management of tax credits that taxpayers can receive from the Union. He works from home.
Data from the transparency portal indicate that the tax auditor has an average salary of R$27 thousand and in December, the date of the last release available on the portal, he received R$51.6 thousand.
The investigation involving the server took co-workers by surprise. A professional who works at the Federal Revenue Service in São José do Rio Preto, who asked not to be identified, said that Mansano is a discreet professional.
The reporter tried to listen to the auditor on his cell phone and went to his residence, but the concierge informed him that he could not make contact.
Mansano’s wife said she could not comment on the case and did not say whether the tax auditor had a defense. The professional deleted social media after the operation.
In Guarujá (90 km from São Paulo), public servant Ruth Machado dos Santos has not yet filed a defense and is digesting the fact that she has become the target of investigation. The information was given by her husband, when contacted by the Sheet in the house where they live in the Vila Lygia neighborhood.
Ruth did not show up and her husband informed her that they would not talk about the case. He only opened the gate a small crack during the brief contact.
Social security technician, according to the Transparency Portal, Ruth joined the public service in April 1994 and works at a Federal Revenue station in the city on the coast of São Paulo, with a salary of R$11,700. She is currently an administrative agent.
A Sheet He heard from neighbors, who described the family as religious and discreet in their neighborhood. “They are family people,” said micro-entrepreneur Renata de Abreu Nascimento, 56, who has lived opposite the server’s house for more than 20 years.
The report also sought out server Luciano Pery Santos Nascimento, who lives in a building in Narandiba, a lower middle class neighborhood in the so-called core region of Salvador.
The building’s doorman called the apartment where he lives, but no one answered. THE Sheet left contacts, but there was no response.
Luciano Pery is a social security technician, based at the Federal Revenue Office in Salvador and works in the taxpayer service center. He entered public service in January 1983 and has a salary of R$11,500. On social media, he avoids posting photos and usually posts motivational messages.
The report also tried to contact Luiz Antônio Martins Nunes, a server at Serpro, a state-owned data processing company, which was assigned to the tax authorities. The employee’s defense was not located.
Serpro, a public technology company, stated that all of its systems are fully traceable, allowing the identification, monitoring and auditing of possible irregularities.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE OPERATION
1. Nature of the investigation
In the note released about the case, the STF did not detail which data was leaked, from which people, nor the date of the leaks.
2. Competence of Minister Alexandre de Moraes
If the minister, who heads the fake news inquiry, and his family members, were the target of leaks, there is a risk of conflict of interest
3. Jurisdiction of the STF
Federal Revenue employees do not have privileged jurisdiction. Experts question whether the case should not be in the first instance
4. Use of the fake survey news
The investigation into the leaks was included in the 2019 inquiry, which has already received several criticisms for having served as broad investigations with no deadline for completion.
5. Timing of operation
The operation took place before the Federal Revenue concluded the survey of undue access to confidential data of ministers and their families
6. Exhibition of suspects
Although the investigation is under secrecy, the names of the suspects were released by the STF, as Moraes usually does. In a similar case, in 2019, servers involved in a suspected data leak ended up being reincorporated
7. Relationship with complaints involving the Bank Master
The investigation takes place after reports revealed businesses belonging to Dias Toffoli’s family and the million-dollar contract from the office of minister Alexandre de Moraes’ wife. There is no official confirmation that the leak is linked to these cases
