CGU does not rule out that Abin records were erased during the Lula government

The minister of CGU (General Comptroller of the Union), Vinícius de Carvalho, said this Friday (2.Feb.2024) that the disposal of information about alleged illegal espionage in Abin (Brazilian Intelligence Agency) “tends to happen” during the government of the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

He did not rule out, however, that the agency's employees may have terminated the information already during the management of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). Due to the confidential nature of the investigation, Carvalho said he could not say with precision the date on which the materials were discarded. The information was given during an interview with Globonews.

The minister said, however, that the CGU found records of document printing by Abin servers. The printed files were not found in searches carried out by the current government.

Vinícius de Carvalho also stated that the CGU did not find obstacles imposed by Abin's current management in the investigations.

In the coming days, the body should have access – as determined by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court – to around 200 GB linked to investigations involving the government of Jair Bolsonaro.

UNDERSTAND

A Federal Police (Federal Police) investigates alleged illegal espionage carried out by Abin during the management of Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ), now a federal deputy, as director of the body in the government of Jair Bolsonaro.

The intelligence agency would have used the software First Mile to monitor the cell phones of journalists, authorities and employees for months. The information would be forwarded to people linked to the then president, such as his son, the Rio councilor Carlos Bolsonaro.

According to PF investigations, the illicit monitoring served to provide information that would benefit Bolsonaro's children. Reports would have been sent to the defenses of Flavio and Jair Renan Bolsonaro, both with legal investigations.