Brazil Military Court strips Army Colonel of rank over R$ 25M fraud

The Superior Military Court (STM) has unanimously stripped Army Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Vieira do Nascimento of his rank and position. The decision follows his definitive criminal conviction for involvement in 88 fraudulent bidding processes.

The scheme, which occurred between 2003 and 2005, involved agreements between the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT) and the Military Institute of Engineering (IME). The fraud resulted in an estimated loss of R$ 25.71 million to the military administration.

During his tenure in strategic roles at IME, including treasurer and member of the bidding commission, Nascimento was found to have authorized illicit payments and falsely certified the receipt of services that were never executed. The court's ruling was based on his participation in 236 acts of embezzlement.