RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Senator Flávio Bolsonaro was subpoenaed by the Rio de Janeiro Federal Prosecutor’s Office to testify about the criminal investigation into alleged leaks by the Federal Police in Operation Furna da Onça, launched in 2018.
The investigation was opened after entrepreneur Paulo Marinho claimed that Flávio had prior knowledge of the operation into the salary kickback scheme in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro (ALERJ).
Given the senator’s privileged forum (which says that elected politicians can only be tried for crimes in higher courts), the subpoena was forwarded to Federal Prosecutor General Augusto Aras. Flávio has 30 days to schedule the deposition counting from the date of notification.
Operation leak
Entrepreneur Paulo Marinho gave a deposition on May 20th, at the Rio Federal Police headquarters in Mauá Square, for about five and a half hours. On May 26th he was interviewed again.
The entrepreneur told the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo that Senator Flávio Bolsonaro had been tipped off in advance of the launching of the operation. Operation “Furna da Onça” – an unfolding of Lava Jato – led to the arrest of state deputies in November 2018. It was during this operation that investigators came up with the name Fabrício Queiroz, who is suspected of running the so-called “splitting” scheme of salary kickbacks in then deputy Flávio Bolsonaro’s staff.
The leak allegedly came from a Federal Police detective, according to Marinho. The entrepreneur was one of the main supporters of Jair Bolsonaro’s campaign and is the alternate for Flávio Bolsonaro’s Senate seat if it becomes vacant. Several of the political group’s meetings were held in Marinho’s home.
Source: G1