The Federal Police (PF) and the Public Ministry of the State of Pará executed this Friday (26) six search and seizure warrants in Vitória do Xingu and Altamira, in the southwest of the state, as part of the Opala operation. The suspicion is that there was overpricing in the purchase of fuel by the Vitória do Xingu city hall.
According to the PF, the investigations, which began last year, found that the city government had spent more than R$20 million on the purchase of fuel alone. This represents twice what was spent by the nearby municipality of Altamira, which has a population seven times larger and an area 50 times larger.
The investigations also found, when analyzing the bidding procedures linked to the municipality, irregularities with the company involved in the fraud, restriction of competitiveness, price overpricing and fraud scheme in the notes paid by the city hall.
The company that won the bid and offered the lowest value in two weeks raised the price of the liter sold to the city hall. In addition, the winning post of the contest belongs to the mayor’s family. The amount contracted by the city hall with the company would be enough to supply the city’s fleet three times, including private cars. Hence the name of the operation, called Opal, for being a reference to a vehicle regarded as not very economical.
The action seeks to end the criminal practice, identify where the money went, recover the assets and hold those involved accountable. The penalty for this type of crime is 19 years in prison, loss of public service, compensation and administrative responsibility.
THE CNN contacted the Vitória do Xingu City Hall, but received no response.
Source: CNN Brasil
