Brazil Supreme Court blocks R$119 million of PL leader Valdemar Costa Neto over alleged amendment scheme

Minister of the Supreme Federal Court Flávio Dino ordered the seizure of up to R$ 119.2 million in assets belonging to Valdemar Costa Neto, the national president of the Liberal Party (PL). The precautionary measure follows the Federal Police’s Operation Transparência, which uncovered a scheme in which Valdemar – despite no longer holding a parliamentary mandate – allegedly directed the allocation of parliamentary amendments through a “parallel decision‑making arrangement” inside the Chamber of Deputies. Staff members including Mariângela Fialek, Nara Brum and Garigham Pinto were identified as intermediaries who recorded the amendments under the names of sitting deputies. Twenty‑one emendas were traced, totalling R$ 119 million; the largest single allocation was R$ 24 million to Porto Seguro (BA), with further funds earmarked for Suzano, Mogi das Cruzes, Rio de Janeiro, Caraguatatuba and Dom Eliseu. Dino’s decision also suspended the execution of the irregular emendas to safeguard possible restitution to the Treasury. Valdemar denies any wrongdoing, and his lawyers argue that the evidence is insufficient. As Dino noted, “Consoante atestam diálogos em aplicativos de mensagens e numerosas planilhas compartilhadas entre os investigados, Valdemar Costa Neto, sem exercer mandato parlamentar, parece ter atuado, até muito recentemente, como mandante do (re)direcionamento de valores públicos.”