This Wednesday morning (2), the Federal Police launched the third phase of Operation Rent a Car and carried out search and seizure warrants against people linked to federal deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante (PL-RJ), leader of the party in the Chamber. The information is from UOL.
This time, the investigation focuses on the alleged attempt to justify the origin of during an operation carried out in December last year.
According to the PF, the targets of this phase include a lawyer and people who participated in the looting of the seized values and, later, would have acted to build a version considered false about the origin of the money. The suspicion led investigators to include the possibility of procedural fraud among the crimes investigated.
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Named Operation Galho Fraco 2, the action was carried out in the Federal District, Goiás and Minas Gerais. In addition to procedural fraud, the investigation finds evidence of crimes of embezzlement, money laundering and criminal organization.
In a statement, the Federal Police stated that the investigations seek to deepen investigations into a possible scheme involving public agents, individuals and companies that would have been used to give the appearance of legality to the movement of public resources.
Contract is the target of investigation
The new development arises from the analysis of material collected in the December 2025 operation, when agents seized around R$430,000 in cash in a property linked to the deputy.
At the time, Sóstenes Cavalcante stated that the money was the result of the sale of a property. The parliamentarian said that the operation had been carried out regularly and informed that his lawyers and accountant would present documentation to prove the origin of the funds. He, however, did not explain why the payment would have been made in cash.
According to the Federal Police, subsequent investigations identified signs that the contract presented to support this version was not true. The suspicion is that the document was drawn up after the seizure of the money to try to justify the possession of the values and hinder the progress of the investigations.
Deputy is not the target of this phase
Although the operation originated from the investigation involving the PL leader, this Wednesday’s warrants did not have Sóstenes Cavalcante as a direct target. The focus was on people identified by the PF as responsible for moving the resources and participating in the supposed attempt to create a documentary justification for the origin of the money.
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Investigations continue to clarify the destination of the resources, the participation of each of those involved and the possible use of private structures to hide or disguise the origin of values that, according to the Federal Police, may be related to the embezzlement of public resources.
