Prosecutor asks that Caixa be investigated for changes in the Aid consignment after elections

The Public Prosecutor’s Office with the TCU (Tribunal de Contas da União) presented a new representation this Wednesday (30) asking the court to evaluate the changes promoted by Caixa Econômica Federal in the criteria for granting payroll loans from Auxílio Brasil after the elections.

The document also requests that, if the indications that the release of credit was used by the bank for electoral purposes are confirmed, the responsibility of those involved be determined. The text specifically mentions the president of Caixa, Daniella Marques, and the “alleged involvement” of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

The request was made by deputy attorney general Lucas Furtado, who signed the document. It was also requested to send a copy of the representation to the MPF (Federal Public Ministry) and to the TSE (Superior Electoral Court).

The subprosecutor cites a report published by Sheetwhich showed that Caixa started to limit the offer of its credit lines after having reached the budget limits for the year and changed the income analysis for payroll loans from Auxílio Brasil.

In November, the bank started releasing less money in concessions to social program beneficiaries, limiting the commitment of income to 20%, against 40% – the ceiling allowed by law and the standard amount before the elections.

The total loan portfolio would already add up to R$994 billion and could still exceed R$1 trillion this year, while the bank should have borrowed R$892 billion to comply with liquidity limits.

The high demand for the Auxílio Brasil payroll contributed to the level reached. From the beginning of the operation, on October 11, until the 21st of the same month, the bank released R$ 4.29 billion in this type of credit.

According to Caixa, the granting of credit obeys “internal governance criteria, based on the market context, on the monitoring of its products and on the bank’s strategies.”

In the representation, the sub-attorney wrote that “Caixa’s change of position only reaffirms the electoral character of the measure adopted by Caixa Econômica Federal for the granting of payroll loans to beneficiaries of Auxílio Brasil”.

“Why such a sudden change after the defeat of candidate Jair Bolsonaro in the elections? What changed during the election period and the period in which he was defeated? The facts speak for themselves! There is no denying that the evidence was wide open in the eyes of the society and this Court of Auditors not deserving, once again, the shelving”, he continued.

In early November, the Minister of the TCU (Tribunal de Contas da União) Aroldo Cedraz denied a request by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Caixa to stop making new payroll loans to beneficiaries of the Brazil Aid.

The request had been made by Furtado before the second round of elections. The sub-prosecutor had also requested an evaluation of the criteria adopted by the public bank for the concession, with the aim of preventing its use for purely electoral purposes.

Cedraz ordered the filing of the records, stating that the information presented by Caixa in the process “completely ruled out the alleged irregularity regarding non-compliance with operational procedures or essential risk analyzes prior to the decision to offer the payroll loan to the beneficiaries of the Aid Brazil”.