Public Ministry at TCU asks for investigation into works in former Caixa president’s mansion

The deputy attorney general of the Public Ministry at the TCU (Union Court of Auditors), Lucas Furtado, filed a representation for the court to investigate the works carried out on the mansion of former Caixa Econômica president Pedro Guimarães paid for by the bank, in Brasília.

The request was motivated by a report by Folha, published this Tuesday (5), which showed the institution paid for the installation of light poles in the garden of a house rented by the then president of the bank, who left office after complaints of sexual harassment.

The report revealed that the interventions were carried out in July 2020 by four employees of a company that has contracts with the public bank to carry out maintenance services in its buildings and branches.

According to the TCU prosecutor, the case must be examined by the court’s external control in order to determine whether the work had legitimate reasons to exist in the public interest “or if it served – at the discretion of the law – a very personal and private interest”.

Guimarães’ lawyer, criminalist José Luis Oliveira Lima, confirmed the improvements were made and said they were authorized by the security sector after alleged threats received by the bank’s former president. Caixa says that the works are related to the safety of the then president and are provided for in internal rules.

Lucas Furtado, however, added that the principle of morality, regardless of any legal authorizations regarding the expenses in question, should already be enough to contain actions like this.

“The Public Power cannot, without prejudice to the proper functioning of institutions, live with scandals and discredit, not to mention the high expenses which are not even remotely accessible to taxpayers from whom, in the end, they are required resources to pay for them,” he said.

THE Sheet also spoke with two of the employees of EMIBM Engenharia and had access to images of the work being carried out. According to reports from Caixa servers, the cost was approximately R$ 50 thousand.

For Furtado, the expenses “reveal a practice incompatible with the new demands of society, whose moral parameters must also be taken into account in the decision and in the distinction between the expenses that can and cannot be financed with public resources”.

“It should be noted that in addition to the principle of morality, the principle of impersonality also appears to have been violated as the expenses were intended to benefit the former president and his family,” he said.

The prosecutor also stated that public spending must be preceded by justifications that demonstrate the real need – and legality – of using these resources.

If it is proven that Guimarães used public resources for private benefit, the sub-attorney asks the court to determine the responsibility of those involved and apply the appropriate sanctions for indirect damage to the treasury.

“In our country, the demand for funds is present in practically the entire national territory, given the scarcity of resources in contrast to the unlimited needs of the populations. In this way, if it is proven that public resources were used for personal benefit, the overlapping of private interests with the public interest,” he said.

He added that, in the public sphere, “there must be no space for private wishes” and that the public agent must always act in the public interest and respecting the provisions of the law.