On Wednesday (12/11), Life Tecnologia Educacional, the company targeted by Operation Coffee Break launched by the Federal Police (PF), charged up to 35 times the purchase price for books it sells to city halls in the interior.
According to the investigation, the company raised R$111 million to supply school supplies to four city halls in São Paulo through allegedly corrupt contracts. According to PF, the mastermind behind the scheme was businessman Andre Gonçalves Mariano, owner of the company and one of those arrested in the operation.
“From an analysis of atypical financial transactions related to Life Tecnologia, law enforcement authorities say that the exorbitant pricing carried out by the company is clear, reaching up to 35 times the purchase price of the products. In some cases, in addition to the exorbitant pricing, Life may have purchased the books only after selling them to the city hall,” the PF said.
According to the investigation, the bribery scheme involved local government officials, businessmen, money changers and lobbyists. A total of five people were arrested, including Holtlandia’s deputy mayor, Café César (PSB), and the city’s education secretary, Fernando Gómez de Moraes. Warrants were also executed in Morungaba, Sumare and Limeira in the Campinas region.
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Investigations show that this plan has been in place since at least 2021. This crime cycle involved three main groups: Life Tecnologia, which Mariano represented, public authorities, and money exchangers.
Records say Mariano had privileged access to the city’s education secretaries and “created demand” for his products, particularly books, robotics kits and educational materials. As a result, the bidding process was rigged to give Life a competitive advantage in exchange for paying bribes to responsible public authorities.
At Ortlandia, for example, Mr. Mariano “cooperated” with civil servants, participating in the construction of the bidding process and also agreeing on the products to be sold. In Sumare, he received the notification’s key document, the terms of reference, for approval before its official publication.
“coffee”
At the same time, public representatives such as Café César and Fernando Gómez de Moraes worked to guide Reif’s victory, sign price registration minutes, and expedite the release of high-value contracts and payment commitments.
Servers received bribes in kind called “coffees.” The bribes were sent through money changers, direct bank transfers, or to third party or family accounts.
“The subjects of the investigation use the term “café” to refer to payments of illicit benefits to public officials, and it is possible to conclude that, between 2021 and 2024, they made dozens of payments of illicit benefits to public officials and lobbyists associated with the most diverse public bodies, the judge said in the judgment.
money laundering
- PF’s investigation also found that once Life received public funds, it used a complex money laundering system to conceal the source and destination of the funds. To do this, funds were sent to a shell company controlled by money changers.
- These operators were responsible for converting bank transfers into cash. To conceal this move, the group adopted strategies such as paying invoices in installments rather than making large transactions all at once.
- The cash, minus the money changer’s fees, returned to Andre Mariano, who used it to pay bribes and line his own pockets.
Mech
The Federal Police (PF) investigation also implicates a former daughter-in-law of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) and a former partner of one of the sons of PT members in the bribery scheme.
Carla Ariane Trindade was married to Marcos Claudio Lula da Silva, one of the president’s sons. According to the investigation, Mr. Carla promised privileged access in Brasilia and “protected public authorities and Mr. Mariano’s private interests, primarily in the search for resources and contracts.”
Mariano also paid for a ticket for Lula’s former daughter-in-law to travel with her to the federal capital.
“Carla would have gone to Brasilia on at least two occasions using tickets paid by Andre Mariano, and this appointment move, often corroborated by other documents, shows that Carla is primarily defending public authorities and Mariano’s private interests in the search for resources and contracts,” State Judge Raquel Coelho Dal Rio Silveira of the First Federal Court of Campinas said in the judgment authorizing Operation Coffee Break.
“It appears that Carla has, or claims to have, influence over decisions of the federal government, in particular the FNDE (National Fund for Educational Development), and inter alia municipalities such as Maua/SP, Diadema/SP and Campinas/SP,” the judge added, based on PF’s representation.
According to the conversation, Carla’s contact information was saved on Mariano’s cell phone under the names “Amiga de Paulínea” and “Nora.” In Andre Mariano’s diary there are several notes that say “CARLA” and “Coffee”. Law enforcement officials say there is “little doubt that CARLA will receive payment in kind” in return.
From the Vitar family
In addition to her, the investigation names Khalil Vitar, the former partner of Lula’s eldest son Fabio Luis Lula da Silva (also known as Luriña), as a person with ties to businessman Andre Mariano.
Federal police say Kalil was “very important and involved in the business success” of Life Educational and was “acting in support of Andre Mariano’s interests in the ‘development of the business.'” He would have helped the businessman “intensify his lobbying efforts in Brasilia” and it is likely that “this action with the national government enabled various payments to LIFE by the Municipality of Holtlandia.”
Khalil is the younger brother of Fernando Vitale, the former owner of the Atibaia farm assigned to President Lula by the Operation Raba Jato force. Fernando and Lula were convicted in this case by Judge Gabriela Hart of the 13th Court of Curitiba. Although the location did not belong to the former president, the judge argued that under former OAS president Leo Pinheiro’s plea agreement, it was used by the former president and renovated for him.
Khalil and Fernando are the sons of Jaco Vitar, who passed away in May 2022. Jaco was a friend of Lula, one of the founders of the PT and former mayor of Campinas (SP).
What those involved say
Holtlandia City Hall said in a statement that it was surprised by the federal police’s actions, but that authorities would be held to account.
“The City emphasizes that all bids are conducted according to a strict process in accordance with the Tendering and Management Contracts Act (Law No. 14,133/21), in particular with respect to the compliance of the contracting companies with legal and regulatory standards, such as the publicity of the bidding process, the transparency of the contracting stages and the checking of the delivery of contracted items and services. In the case of electronic auctions, interested parties can also participate regardless of their location, which increases access to all stages,” the City said.
The big city sought legal representation for those mentioned, but received no response until the publication of this report. The space remains open.
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