President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) commented on the arrest of former Minister of Education Milton Ribeiro this Wednesday morning (22). Ribeiro was preventively detained in Santos (SP) as part of a Federal Police (PF) operation that took place on Wednesday.
“Milton’s case, as far as I’m aware, is that question, which he was, would be talking a little too informally with some of his trusted people. And then there was a complaint that he would have sought out the mayor, his people to negotiate, to release funds, this and that. And what happens? We pushed him away. If there’s a prison, it’s the Federal Police. It is a sign that the Federal Police is acting,” Bolsonaro said in an interview this Wednesday morning with Itatiaia radio.
“He is responsible for his actions. I pray to God that there is no problem. But if there is a problem, the PF is acting, it is investigating, it is a sign that I do not interfere with the PF, because that will obviously spill over to me”, declared the president.
“I have 23 ministers, I have more than a hundred secretaries, more than 20,000 commission positions. If someone does something wrong, hey, will they blame me? Twenty thousand people. Of course, my responsibility is to step aside and collaborate with the investigation. You can be sure that this investigation, in addition to the PF, I do not interfere, it must have the Comptroller General of the Union, then yes it is my ministry, etc. And helping to clarify the case.”
In another passage, Bolsonaro also said that if the former minister is found guilty, “he will pay”. “I’m sorry, the press will say it’s linked to me, etc., patience. If there’s something wrong, he’ll respond, if he’s innocent, no problem, if he’s guilty, he’ll pay. The government cooperates with the investigation. We don’t condone any of that. Now, I don’t know how deep this investigation is. In my opinion, it is not that organic, because we have the compliances in the ministries. And any contract, any deal, does not pass.”
“Our government, we have in each ministry, the compliance system for you, if you are deceived by someone, or want to do it, you will not be able to, so much so that it is zero corruption in our government”, said the president, a little before.
According to the PF, the “Acesso Paid” operation aims to investigate the practice of influence peddling and corruption for the release of public resources from the National Education Development Fund (FNDE), linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC) .
The preventive arrest warrant issued against Milton Ribeiro cites the crimes of passive corruption, malfeasance, administrative advocacy and influence peddling.
THE CNN tries to contact the ex-minister’s defense, but there has been no response.
Source: CNN Brasil
I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.
