Alleged amendment operator for Valdemar denies irregularities
Appointed by the PF (Federal Police) as operator of parliamentary amendments for the national president of the PL (Liberal Party), Valdemar Costa Neto, lawyer Mariânglea Fialek denied irregularities in her duties this Friday (10), highlighting that her actions were "strictly technical, non-partisan and impersonal".
"It is worth mentioning that all of Mariângela Fialek's work material is public, and that all information contained therein, regarding indications for amendments, is forwarded to the Secretariat of Institutional Relations of the Presidency of the Republic, where they can also be found, in addition to being published on the Transparency Portal, as determined by the Federal Supreme Court. Finally, it is important to mention that Mariângela Fialek is not attributed with committing any functional or criminal irregularity", he explained.
In Brasília since 2003, Mariângela claims to have no history of party affiliation, performing the role of Advisor in the Sub-Head of Legal Affairs of the Civil House in the Lula (PT) Government, in 2003; the Deputy Head of Parliamentary Affairs in the Temer Government; and parliamentary advisor for Regional Development in the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government.
According to the PF, Mariângela is suspected of operating amendments to the so-called secret budget and was the target of the corporation's operation in December last year during Operation Transparency. Since then, Tuca, as the public servant is known, should have stayed away from activities involving Budget resources.
The PF, however, indicated that from June 2024 until March this year Tuca and two other civil servants - Garigham Amarante and Nara Brum - would have acted in the diversion of at least 21 amendments in favor of Valdemar with an amount of around R$ 119.2 million.
Tuca is a former advisor to congressman Arthur Lira (PP-AL), former president of the Chamber. Currently, she is working as a server in the House's Administrative Directorate, in the Infrastructure and Heritage area. Garigham is working as an advisor in the opposition leadership's office and Nara is working as an advisor to the PL leadership.
In a statement, Valdemar stated that it was natural for a leader of the party to articulate and influence the bench politically.
"Party political action could only have criminal relevance if accompanied by concrete evidence of fraud, functional deviation, deliberate concealment or misappropriation of the execution of public expenditure. These elements are not minimally demonstrated", says Valdemar's defense in a note forwarded to CNN Brasil.
Check out Mariângela's note in full
"MARIANGELA FIALEK is a lawyer graduated from PUC/RS and has a master's degree in State Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of São Paulo.
An experienced professional with no history of party affiliation, he was part of the Executive Branch for almost a decade, having even served as an Advisor to the Sub-Head of Legal Affairs of the Civil House during the Lula Government, in 2003. She also served as Sub-Head of Parliamentary Affairs in the Temer Government and was a parliamentary advisor to the Ministry of Regional Development in the Bolsonaro government.
He worked in the Senate of the Republic for 10 years, providing legal advice to the Leadership of the Lula and Dilma Governments.
He has worked in the Chamber of Deputies for approximately 6 years and held a position on a committee of the Presidency's Office (CNE 07 - technical advisor1), performing his duties in the technical organization of the budget.
In this capacity, he was technically responsible for organizing parliamentary amendments, in the exact terms of what was decided by the Presidency of the House and by all party leaders without distinction (College of Leaders).
Its action was strictly technical, non-partisan and impersonal, in the exact terms set out in LC 210/2024, published in compliance with the decisions of the Federal Supreme Court.
It is worth mentioning that all of MARIANGELA FIALEK's work material is public, and that all information contained therein, regarding indications for amendments, is forwarded to the Secretariat of Institutional Relations of the Presidency of the Republic, where it can also be found, in addition to being published on the Transparency Portal, as determined by the Federal Supreme Court.
Finally, it is important to mention that MARIANGELA FIALEK is not responsible for committing any functional or criminal irregularity. The OBJECTIVE of the Federal Police is to access information related to the role it performed in the Chamber of Deputies, regarding the indications, by Deputies, of amendment funds. Such information, register, it is now public."
Flávio Dino orders an investigation into Valdemar Costa Neto for irregular amendments | BEHIND THE SCENES CNN
Source: CNN