The flight left the island of Saint Martin, a tax haven in the Caribbean, and landed on the night of April 20 last year at Catarina airport, in São Roque (SP), used for executive aviation
A Federal Police opened an investigation to investigate suspicions of embezzlement or smuggling andm a flight carried out on a private aircraft belonging to a businessman investigated by the CPI das Bets do Senado. This inquiry, however, was referred to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) after the PF found that four parliamentarians accompanied the businessman on the flight: the president of the Chamber, Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), senator Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI) and deputies Doutor Luizinho (PP-RJ) and Isnaldo Bulhões (MDB-AL). Parliamentarians have not yet commented.
The information was initially released by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo. Estadão had access to the PF report produced in the investigation. The parliamentarians were contacted by the report, but have not yet commented. The space remains open.
A aircraft belongs to businessman Fernando Oliveira Lima, who is a partner in an online betting company. He was present on the flight with parliamentarians, which took place in April 2025, a period in which the CPI das Bets was active in the Senate, with the participation of Ciro Nogueira. Lima was contacted by the report, but did not comment.
O flight left the island of Saint Martin, a tax haven in the Caribbean, and landed on the night of April 20th last year at Catarina airport, in São Roque (SP), used for executive aviation. The PF’s suspicions arose from an investigation into the corruption of a tax auditor, Marco Canella, indicted in another investigation for facilitating smuggling or embezzlement. The auditor was contacted, but did not take a position either.
In the case of the parliamentarians’ flight, Canella allowed an employee of the businessman to disembark at the airport and passed with seven pieces of luggage outside the X-ray. The irregular procedure was recorded by security cameras.
The owners of the luggage that illegally underwent X-ray have not yet been identified. As the flight came from a tax haven and the auditor had already been indicted for crimes of facilitating smuggling and embezzlement, the PF suspects that the contents of the luggage may be illegal.
During the investigation, however, it was found that parliamentarians were also on board the flight. They put their bags through the normal X-ray procedure, but it is not possible to know at this point whether the luggage that was transported outside the X-ray contained items belonging to the parliamentarians. In a partial report, the PF wrote that the continuity of the investigations may indicate the involvement of one of the parliamentarians in the crimes investigated and, therefore, it would be necessary to send the case to the STF.
“Considering that, if the investigations continue and indicate that, in addition to the conduct of the Tax Auditor MARCO ANTÔNIO CANELLA, there is other illicit conduct, as well as that one of the people mentioned in “item 9″ above are involved, the case must be processed by CINQ/CGRC/DICOR/PF, and the Process before the Federal Supreme Court, which is why, unless I better judge, I understand that it is reckless to continue the investigations without the assessment of such a situation by the Judiciary”, says the order.
On your social networks, the businessman took photos of the trip, but the parliamentarians do not appear. The images show the interior of the aircraft with meals and an onboard map to the destination of Saint Martin, the aircraft arriving at a beach with clear blue sea and several moments on the beach.
O iThe inquiry arrived at the STF this week and was distributed to Minister Alexandre de Moraes. He sent the case for analysis by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), which must give an opinion on whether there is evidence of crimes so that the facts can be investigated before the Supreme Court.
