STF Freezes R$119 Million of PL Chief Valdemar Costa Neto

Overview

• The STF order, issued Friday, July 10, froze up to R$119.2 million in Valdemar’s assets and suspended execution of 21 emendas the Federal Police says were directed by him.
• Investigators base their request on messages and spreadsheets extracted from the cellphone of former Chamber servant Mariângela Fialek that refer to 'VCN' or 'do Valdemar' and discuss amounts such as R$24 million.
• The PGR formally opposed the asset block, Valdemar’s lawyers denied any crime and party allies publicly attacked the investigation, creating an institutional and political dispute over the precautionary measures.
• The PF says about R$104 million of the flagged R$119 million was already paid to projects in health, tourism and sport across 17 municipalities, including a R$3 million emenda to Mogi das Cruzes that appears under another deputy’s name.
• Magistrates ordered the Chamber to deliver internal tramitation records within ten days and investigators will continue cross-checking planilhas with transfer records as the probe expands toward implicated deputies and civil servants; the case rests on proving a parallel decision-making process that would show illicit control over public funds.