12/09/2024 – 20:43
The Regional Electoral Court of Roraima (TRE-RR) granted freedom last Tuesday, 10, to businessman Renildo Lima, husband of federal deputy Helena da Asatur (MDB-RR), arrested by the Federal Police (PF) in Boa Vista with R$ 500 thousand in cash, with part of the amount hidden in his underwear.
Lima was arrested by the Federal Police last Monday, the 9th, on suspicion of vote buying and armed criminal association. A lawyer, two military police officers who were providing the businessman’s personal security and two other people who were arrested with Lima were also released.
The suspicion is that the money seized from the group was used to buy votes. According to the PF, two vehicles were stopped and, during the search, the amount in cash, campaign material and documents confirming the destination of the money were found.
The Electoral Public Ministry (MPE) requested Lima’s arrest or a fine of R$60,000 due to the seriousness of the case, but the request was not accepted by the court.
The group was heard in a custody hearing at the 1st Electoral Zone, in Boa Vista, on the same day they were released. Judge Breno Jorge Coutinho granted freedom to the detainees because he understood that it would not hinder the investigations by the Federal Police.
The judge, however, imposed a curfew on the businessman, prohibiting him from being on the streets between 6 pm and 8 am, and requiring him to appear in court every two months or whenever summoned. He will also have to inform the court of trips lasting more than eight days and will not be able to travel internationally without prior authorization.
Also on Monday, Congresswoman Helena, the businessman’s wife, published a post on social media denying that the money would be used to buy votes: “To believe that moving your own money is synonymous with buying votes is pure ignorance. Now, should we close down businesses during election periods? That’s all we need.”
Contacted by Blog do Fausto Macedo, the parliamentarian did not respond.
The Military Police of Roraima said that the internal affairs department is following the case and stated that the arrested soldiers were off-duty, adding that behavior that compromises the public’s trust and respect for the corporation “will not be tolerated.”
Lima is the owner of Asatur, a municipal bus company, and Voare, an air taxi company, which has provided services to the Ministry of Health with flights for medical care to the Yanomami Indigenous Land.
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