Judge freezes $47.5 million from overpricing scheme in Brasília

Federal Judge Vallisney de Souza Oliveira, of Brasília, authorized the freezing of the assets belonging to former Federal District Governors José Roberto Arruda and Agnelo Queiroz; Tadeu Flilippelli, former vice-Governor under Queiroz; and seven other people, among them Via Engenharia owner Fernando Márcio Queiroz. In addition to their personal accounts, the decision also affects the possessions and assets of the construction company, which had $30.6 million frozen.

Arruda, Agnelo, Filippelli, Queiroz and six other people were the target of ten temporary arrest warrants issued by federal authorities as part of Operation Panathenaic, a spinoff of Operation Car Wash.

The investigated are being probed in connection with alleged irregularities in the bidding processes for public works such as the renovation project of the Mané Garrincha Stadium—one of the venues of the 2014 World Cup—the implementation of the Sistema BRT Sul—an urban mobility project under the Accelerated Growth Program (PAC, in the original Portuguese)—and urban services in the area surrounding the Mané Garrincha Stadium.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira