Ceará police arrest businessman linked to public fund diversion scheme

Iago Viana Nascimento, a 34-year-old businessman suspected of operating a criminal scheme linked to former mayor Carlos Alberto Queiroz (known as ‘Bebeto do Choró’), has been arrested by the Ceará Civil Police.

Nascimento, who was a fugitive, is allegedly involved in the diversion of federal public funds. He is identified as the managing partner of SFC Serviços, a company involved in school transportation that reportedly benefited from various public bids and parliamentary amendments. Investigations also suggest his involvement in an optical goods network that faced a judicial suspension of a contract with a local municipality due to suspected vote-buying.

The arrest is part of ‘Operação Underlayer’, an investigation into the violation of judicial orders regarding the freezing of bank accounts. While Nascimento has been apprehended, the former mayor, Bebeto do Choró, remains at large.