Federal Police make dozens of arrests as they break up a ring of corruption in Ministry of Tourism

More than thirty people have been arrested accused of malversation (“desvio de recursos públicos”) at the Ministry of Tourism. According to the Federal Police, 19 people were detained (“prisão preventiva”) and another 16 were imprisoned temporarily (“prisão temporária”). Armed with search warrants, police confiscated documents and computers in offices and residences in various cities.

The police operation (“Operação Voucher”), which began in April, has been investigating contracts between the Ministry of Tourism and an NGO (“Instituto Brasileiro de Desenvolvimento de Infraestrutura Sustentável – Ibrasi’) during a period that ended around 2009. One of the Tourism-Ibrasi contracts was worth R$4.4 million, of which it is believed R$3 million was embezzled (the money originated in a congressional earmark (“emenda parliamentar”) by deputy Fátima Pelaes (PMDB-AP) for training tour guides in the state of Amapa). There may have been other contracts with Ibrasi for a total of as much as R$15 million.

In São Paulo, 11 arrests were made. At the home of the director of Ibrasi, police found R$610,000 in cash. In Brasilia, where 17 people were arrested, the executive secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, the second-highest ranking person in the ministry, was detained. Another 7 people were arrested in Amapa.