State deputy Kleber Cristian Escolano de Almeida, known as Binho Galinha (Patriota-BA), was the target of a Federal Police operation this Thursday (7). According to investigations, he heads a militia in Feira de Santana, a municipality in Bahia located about 115 kilometers from Salvador.
The businessman is 46 years old and was born in the city of Milagres, around 250 kilometers from the capital of Bahia, but has lived in Feira de Santana since he was 13 years old.
According to information from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Binho ran for the first time in the 2022 election. He obtained 49,834 votes and was elected by average.
To the TSE, he declared last year that he had just over R$310,000 in assets and reported having spent R$143,700 on the campaign.
He informed the TSE that he owned a gas station in the Maria Quitéria neighborhood, in Feira de Santana. The deputy also owned a scrapyard in the Jardim Cruzeiro neighborhood, in the same city.
Criminal record certificates presented to the TSE and issued by the Court of Justice of Bahia and the Federal Court reported that, until that moment, there were no cases with the potential for general ineligibility against the then candidate.
Still according to the statement to the Electoral Court, Binho is single and has not completed high school.
In an interview on a radio program in January of this year, shortly before taking office as state deputy, he explained why his nickname was Binho Galinha:
“I used to work in a slaughterhouse, with that motorcycle that has a trunk, delivering chicken,” he said.
In the same interview, he said that he “never wanted to be a politician”, but that he “always liked to help” and that “he spent 20 years providing food baskets”.
Regarding last year’s election, he said: “I went ‘solo career’. I had no help from any politician and I remained neutral [no primeiro turno].” In the second round, he declared support for Jerônimo Rodrigues (PT), who was elected governor of Bahia.
Deputy becomes defendant
After the Federal Police operation, the Public Ministry filed a complaint against the deputy to the Bahia Court. He is accused of the crimes of money laundering from Jogo do Bicho, loan sharking and qualified reception.
The state court accepted the complaint and, as a result, Binho Galinha became a defendant.
Six people were preventively arrested in the operation. 35 search and seizure warrants were executed, including the deputy’s house and farms. In addition to the deputy, 14 other people were denounced by the MP, including military police officers.
In the places where the search and seizure warrants were executed, documents, cocaine paste, weapons and ammunition were seized.
The Court ordered, at the MP’s request, the blocking of R$200 million from the bank accounts of those under investigation and the seizure of 26 urban and rural properties, including ten farms, nine houses, four plots of land, two apartments and a commercial space, 14 vehicles , in addition to the suspension of economic activities of six companies.
The Public Ministry asked the Court to order the payment of a fine of more than R$30 million for collective moral damages. During the investigations, it was revealed that the criminal organization carried out, in a decade, bank transactions in excess of R$ 100 million, a total transferred directly over time by those investigated and by companies set up with the aim of guaranteeing the appearance of lawfulness to the resources moved. .
A CNN tries to contact the deputy and the Legislative Assembly of Bahia, but has not yet received a response.
See photos of the operation:
Source: CNN Brasil
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