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On Wednesday morning (22/06), the Federal Police (PF) arrested former Education Minister Milton Ribeiro and four other people. Ribeiro is investigated for passive corruption, malfeasance and influence peddling for alleged involvement in a scheme to release funds from the MEC. Pastors Gilmar Santos and Arilton Moura were also arrested by the PF the same day. They are investigated for acting informally with mayors, requesting bribes in exchange for the release of resources from the Education Ministry. The other two prisoners are Helder Bartolomeu, a former advisor to the Goiânia City Hall, and Luciano Freitas Musse, a former advisor to Milton Ribeiro at the Education Ministry.
Developments
On Thursday afternoon (23/06), the former minister left the PF prison in the capital of São Paulo, after judge Ney Bello, from the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region, canceled the preventive detention.
The President’s Stance on the Case
On Wednesday (22/06), when asked about the arrest warrant against his former Education Minister Milton Ribeiro, President Jair Bolsonaro said that the Ribeiro is the one who should answer for any irregularities at the head of the MEC. Bolsonaro’s latest statement represents a change in his stance regarding the case. Before dismissing Ribeiro, when the allegations had already become public, Bolsonaro even said that he would put “his face in the fire” for Ribeiro.
Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPI)
Opposition politicians in the Senate believe that the arrest of former Education Minister Milton Ribeiro and pastors could enable the 27 signatures needed to create a CPI to investigate the Education Ministry. The purpose of the CPI is to investigate the alleged irregularities of the ministry and the suspicion that there was influence peddling by pastors.
