Sóstenes denies money laundering with a car investigated by the PF
The leader of the PL in the Chamber, Sóstenes Cavalcante (RJ), defended himself this Wednesday (1st) against the PF (Federal Police) operations investigating alleged money laundering through the use of a rented car. In a statement to the Chamber, he presented two Police Reports that would justify the use of the vehicle.
The records make reference to an assault suffered by its driver while he was driving the investigated Corolla. Another document presented by the deputy's team makes reference to an accident that Sóstenes allegedly suffered on the road while returning from Minas Gerais, where he went to receive an award. According to the parliamentarian, he has been using the car since the first day of his term.
In the morning, the PF launched an operation to investigate the misuse of parliamentary quota resources by people linked to the deputy. Five warrants were served against lawyers in Minas Gerais, Brasília and Goiás. Agents seized jewelry and money from more than one address.
The deputy did not answer questions from journalists, but stated that he is being persecuted after assuming leadership of the PL (Liberal Party). Regarding the property in his name that was the subject of a PF investigation, Sóstenes said that his father lived in the property and later carried out renovations, but later moved to Uberlândia, which led to the sale.
"I had an offer from a lawyer below the value of R$ 500 thousand and he paid me in cash, with declared origin. The purchase was made in November and he already made the deed in his own name for his purchase. Everything in the greatest transparency possible", he stated.
Sosthenes is not among the targets at this stage of the operation. In the previous phase, he had more than R$430,000 in cash seized.
The deputy stated that he is being "persecuted" after assuming leadership of the PL in the Chamber.
Sóstenes' team will now pressure the STF (Supreme Federal Court) to speed up the investigations. Minister Flávio Dino is responsible for monitoring the case. The deputy stated that Dino needs to complete the process to return his seized money.
Federal Police target names linked to Sóstenes Cavalcante in operation | CNN PRIME TIME
Source: CNN