Rio de Janeiro's Institute Rio Metrópole president arrested in $86 million corruption probe

On July 9 2026 the Ministry of Public of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ) carried out a coordinated operation against the Institute Rio Metrópole (IRM). Six people were taken into custody, including IRM president Davi Perini Vermelho (known as “Didê”), director Maurício Silva Knoploch dos Santos – father of state deputy Alexandre Knoploch – and several other officials. Nine search and seizure warrants were executed in Rio, São Gonçalo and Teresópolis.

The investigation uncovered a scheme that diverted roughly R$ 86.3 million through contracts signed between July 2022 and May 2026. Funds were paid to two companies that transferred the money to a shell NGO, the Brazilian Institute of Organics (Instituto BIO), from which cash was withdrawn in large amounts. Eleven people have been charged with organized crime, passive corruption, bid‑fraud and money‑laundering, and assets worth up to the full amount have been frozen.

Prosecutor‑General Antônio José Campos Moreira said the case shows that “there is an institutional environment in the state that is geared toward corruption,” describing public bodies as “antros de corrupção.” The operation is being pursued by the GAESF/MPRJ task force, with additional audits and a permanent flow of information between the state government and the Public Ministry.