One of the targets of the Federal Police (PF) operation this Friday (20) investigating the use of an illegal spying tool by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) is the agency’s Planning and Management Secretary, Paulo Maurício Fortunato. The position is the third most important hierarchically, below directors Luiz Fernando Corrêa and Alessandro Moretti.
The PF is investigating Fortunato’s participation in the use of the FirstMile tool, which, between 2019 and 2021, illegally spied on politicians, lawyers, members of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and journalists.
Paulo Maurício Fortunato’s name in the top position has been the target of criticism since his appointment in April this year. During the hearing of the candidate for general director – Luiz Fernando Corrêa -, in May, senators even questioned his name, which was defended. During the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), he served as director of operations at Abin.
CPI Target
In 2008, Fortunato was director of Counterintelligence at Abin, in the second Lula government, and was removed from the agency after allegations that the agency had also carried out illegal wiretaps against politicians and ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
During the CPI on Clandestine Telephone Wiretapping, at the time, he defended himself and said that Abin was “paying a price” that is not theirs, and lamented the fact that the agency’s employees were being “shammed in the press and treated like wiretappers”.
Sources within the current government consulted by the analyst CNN Larissa Rodrigues said that “there is a question of how they [alvos da operação] remained in a leadership position” within Abin this year.
In addition to removing the secretary and four other employees, the PF arrested two agency employees and carried out 25 search warrants this Friday (20) during the “Last Mile” operation.
In a note, the Brazilian Intelligence Agency reported that, on February 23, 2023, the agency’s General Inspectorate concluded an extraordinary correction to verify the regularity of the use of a geolocation system acquired by the agency in December 2018.
“Based on the conclusions of this correction, an investigative investigation was launched on March 21, 2023. Since then, the information collected in this internal investigation has been passed on by Abin to the competent bodies, such as the Federal Police and the Federal Supreme Court”, says the note .
The agency also said that it collaborated with the competent authorities since the beginning of the investigations.
VIDEO — PF: Abin under Bolsonaro spied on members of the STF; two employees were arrested
Source: CNN Brasil
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