A seizure of cash from an accountant led the Federal Police to investigate the suspected scheme of embezzling public resources intended for health in Ceará. The investigation began in September 2024 and gave rise to Operation Coaptation, launched by the PF to investigate suspected fraud in public contracts, money laundering and corruption.
g1 had access to the court case that details how the scheme would have worked. According to the investigation, shell companies were used to issue invoices for services that would not have been provided. The resources were transferred to these companies and then withdrawn in cash or used in financial operations to hide their origin.
On September 25, 2024, the Federal Police approached accountant César Agamenon Carvalho Barbosa after withdrawing R$345,000 from a bank branch. The money had been withdrawn from an account of the company New Consultoria e Assessoria Ltda. and would be taken to the headquarters of the Pre and Hospital Care Work Cooperative (Coaph), in Fortaleza.
At the time, R$437,912 in banknotes were seized, as well as two cell phones and a notebook. In testimony, the accountant stated that the money would be used to pay doctors on duty and suppliers of the cooperative. He also reported that he had withdrawn another R$400,000 the previous day.
Suspicion about the company used in the transactions increased when investigators identified that the man registered as the formal owner of New Consultoria was imprisoned in the Aquiraz Criminal Screening and Observation Prison Unit, in Ceará.
The investigation began to determine whether the company was used to hide those responsible for financial transactions.
Analysis of the cell phones and notebook seized from the accountant helped investigators identify other suspicious companies and financial transactions.
The group would have used more than 80 shell companies to issue invoices for services such as consultancy, renovations and vehicle rental. The suspicion is that the documents were used to justify transfers of public resources for services that would not have actually been provided.
The size of the movements caught the attention of investigators: just four of these companies would have moved around R$20 million in approximately 100 days.
The investigation also identified arrangements to formally close companies that would have already been used in the scheme.
Warrants were served in the cities of Fortaleza/CE, Caucaia/CE, Eusébio/CE, Tauá/CE and Campina Grande/PB.
The investigation documents indicate that Coaph maintained a space known as the “money room”, equipped with machines for counting banknotes.
The location was used to organize and control large amounts of cash. Investigators suspect that the structure facilitated the circulation of resources outside the banking system and the payment of undue advantages to public agents.
Part of the resources investigated would have been used to acquire luxury vehicles and high-end properties. One of the companies cited in the process is the Drive Car dealership, located in Fortaleza.
According to the investigation, the establishment would have been used to move more than 90 vehicles in successive purchase, sale and exchange operations, making it difficult to track the values.
Investigators also identified 88 vehicles valued at approximately R$16.8 million. The cars were registered in the name of investigated operators, companies linked to the group and third parties who, according to the investigation, could act as “smugglers”.
Among the vehicles seized or related to the investigation are luxury models, such as the McLaren Artura and Chevrolet Corvette.
The suspicion is that the use of intermediary companies and different people in the records helped to hide the true owners of the assets and the origin of the resources used in the acquisitions.
One of the main targets of the investigation is Coaph, a cooperative that maintains contracts to provide health services with municipalities in Ceará and the State Government.
A technical note from the Comptroller General of the Union attached to the process points out that the entity received around R$1.8 billion in public resources over the years, including approximately R$250 million from federal origin.
The operation was launched by the Federal Police to investigate suspected crimes such as corruption, money laundering, document fraud and criminal organization.
On that occasion, the Federal Court ordered the preventive detention of five people being investigated and authorized search and seizure warrants in Ceará and Paraíba. It also determined the seizure of 38 properties and 82 vehicles linked to those under investigation.
The current president of the cooperative was searched and seized and removed from office, according to the investigation documents.
In a note released after the operation, Coaph stated that the investigation was not restricted to the cooperative and also covered other companies in the health sector that maintain contracts with the public authorities.
The entity defended the investigation of the facts with respect to due legal process and the presumption of innocence. He also highlighted the importance of preserving the institution, which provides services considered essential to the population.
