The Federal Public Ministry understood that the commission’s overturning of secrecy could cover periods prior to the facts investigated.
O MPF (Federal Public Ministry) spoke out against a writ of mandamus filed by former Braskem engineer Paulo Roberto Cabral de Melo to overturn a decision of breach of confidentiality determined by the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) that investigates the company. Here’s the complete (PDF – 212 KB).
Braskem’s CPI in the Senate approved on Tuesday (May 7, 2024) the breach of confidentiality by Paulo Roberto, responsible for monitoring the safety of rock salt mines in Maceió, in Alagoas, over the years.
The MPF understood that the CPI can determine the breach of telephone, banking, telematic and tax confidentiality of people, including periods prior to the specific facts investigated, as long as the decision is well-founded and there is thematic relevance to the object of the investigation.
For the MPF, the breaks determined by the CPI are justified and can help determine the causes of soil collapse.
The CPI was established by the Senate to determine responsibility for the disaster caused by rock salt mining underground in Maceió, in Alagoas. The disaster resulted in the sinking of 5 neighborhoods and affected more than 57 thousand people.
The demonstration recalls that the breach of confidentiality aims to investigate possible actions and omissions of those involved in rock salt mining in the city that, over time, resulted in the disaster.
The case
The CPI ordered the breach of the engineer’s telephone and telematic confidentiality from 2005 to 2024, and tax and banking confidentiality from 1976 to 2024 to gather information to elucidate the causes of the subsidence of the ground and investigate possible omissions.
sAccording to Deputy Attorney General of the Republic Juliano Baiocchi Villa-Verde, who signed the statement, the Commission demonstrated that the engineer is a central figure in investigating the company’s operations in Maceió.
The former employee filed a writ of mandamus against the decision, arguing that it was not contemporaneous and that the conduct investigated was time-barred (loss of the State’s right to apply the penalty).
According to the deputy attorney, the investigation is not limited to just acts or omissions that occurred in 2018, which rules out the argument of lack of contemporaneity.
Furthermore, he highlighted that criminal statutes of limitations cannot be automatically applied to the case because the CPI can conclude that environmental crimes are committed on a permanent basis and, therefore, subject to prescription only after the end of the polluting activity.
Braskem held responsible
On Tuesday (May 21), Braskem’s CPI approved the report that holds the company responsible for the sinking of the soil in neighborhoods of Maceió. The document accuses Braskem of the crimes of “ambitious work”which is when exploration goes beyond what is permitted and leaves the mines unproductive.
He also attributed the crime of falsifying the reports sent to regulatory agencies to the company. The text also says that the mining company committed crimes against nature, by damaging part of Maceió’s flora.
The 8 people linked to Braskem who may be indicted at the request of the CPI are:
- Alvaro Cezar Oliveira de AlmeidaProduction Director at Braskem from 2010 to 2019;
- Marco Aurélio Cabral CampeloProduction Manager at Braskem;
- Paulo Márcio TibanaProduction Manager at Braskem from 2012 to 2017;
- Galileu Moraes HenriqueProduction Manager at Braskem from 2018 to 2019;
- Paulo Roberto Cabral de Meloengineer responsible for Braskem’s first mining operation, from 1976 to 2006;
- Alex Cardoso Silvatechnical responsible for Braskem in 2007, 2010, 2017 and 2019;
- Adolfo SponquiadoBraskem’s technical manager at the mining site from 2011 to 2016;
- Marcelo de Oliveira Cerqueiraexecutive director of Braskem since 2013.
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