The Court of Justice of the State of Goiás (TJGO) has accepted charges against a quartet accused of defrauding the Formosa Municipal Health Office (GO)’s tender for the purchase of tests for the detection of COVID-19 in 2020 during the pandemic. This fraud resulted in a loss of R$700,000 to the public treasury.
The then state attorney general of Formosa, Leonardo Candido Martins Bonini, doctors Rafael Magacho Vinicius dos Santos Silva and Bernardo Magacho dos Santos Silva, and businessman Humberto de Alencastro Costa Ferreira are accused of fraud. The complaint filed in court came from the Public Ministry of Goiás (MPGO), which executed a search and seizure warrant against the quartet in April this year.
According to the lawmaker, Dr. Rafael and Dr. Bernardo worked together to import tests and sell them to the city at a high price through a company called Magacho Exportação & Importação Ltda. Leonardo, on the other hand, would have spearheaded negotiations with the executive branch in order to receive bribes in return.
Humberto was responsible for introducing doctors to prosecutors. The defendant first met on May 13, 2020. The next day, Mr. Bernardo’s company Magacho, which sells expensive test drugs, was selected as the successful bidder.
The scammers also presented false offers from three non-existent companies to make the negotiations appear legitimate, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
In addition to corruption, criminal acts include competitive frustration and breaches of confidentiality during the bidding process, said Douglas Ceguri, a prosecutor at Formosa’s 2nd Criminal Court. The case is still in court.
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