Minister Dias Toffoli, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), denied this Thursday (12) the requests for habeas corpus presented by the defenses of the president of the Court of Auditors of Mato Grosso (TCE-MT), counselor Sérgio Ricardo de Almeida, and former commissioned servant Adriangelo Barros Antunes. As a result, the two remain in preventive detention as part of Operation Accountability, which investigates a scheme to embezzle public resources and money laundering within the agency.
In the decisions, Toffoli understood that the STF cannot analyze the requests at this time because the defenses have not yet exhausted the resources available at the Superior Court of Justice (STJ). According to the minister, direct analysis by the Supreme Court would constitute suppression of the instance.
Despite the procedural impediment, the rapporteur highlighted that the preventive arrests were based on guaranteeing public order, the concrete seriousness of the facts investigated and the risk of the crimes continuing.
According to investigations by the Federal Police (PF) and the Attorney General's Office (PGR), Sérgio Ricardo is identified as the leader of the criminal organization that operated at TCE-MT.
Financial reports indicate that, between January and October 2025, the counselor received R$15.44 million from the Court in 101 entries. Of this total, R$4.35 million would have been paid irregularly through an item intended for suppliers. The value is higher than the official remuneration of R$288.5 thousand published on the Transparency Portal in the same period.
The breach of banking secrecy also identified 150 cash withdrawals from accounts linked to the advisor, which totaled R$15.64 million. The withdrawals were carried out at a Sicoob cooperative station located within TCE-MT.
According to the PGR, images from the internal circuit recorded withdrawals and deliveries of money with the help of servers, including Sérgio Ricardo's chief of staff. The PF also identified financial movements considered suspicious of R$75.85 million in 294 days.
Former server is identified as responsible for transporting the money
Adriangelo Barros Antunes, 62 years old, is identified by the investigation as a member of the operational core of the scheme. According to the records, he would be responsible for collecting, transporting and hiding the amounts withdrawn.
Investigations indicate that he received around R$2.28 million from September 2025 and passed on part of the money to his wife, daughter and a third person.
In October of that year, police officers identified a man with characteristics similar to Adriangelo's entering the TCE-MT bank branch with an empty backpack and leaving with the object apparently loaded. When he was arrested, while passing through São Paulo, he had R$17,986 in cash with him.
How the scheme worked
The investigation began after a complaint that Sérgio Ricardo, upon assuming the presidency of the TCE-MT, in 2024, had issued ordinances to suspend contract payments under the justification of cost containment.
According to the investigation, companies that agreed to return part of the amounts to the group continued to receive payments. As a result, the agency's monthly transfers would have increased from R$67 million to R$80 million.
Investigators also identified an alleged parallel sheet that would have allocated around R$48.4 million to seven advisors outside legal parameters.
During the operation, the Federal Police seized more than R$3.76 million and US$69,400 in cash from the six main suspects. Amounts in other foreign currencies, 16 firearms and thousands of ammunition were also found at addresses linked to the group.
What the defenses say
In the requests presented to the STF, lawyers for Sérgio Ricardo and Adriangelo requested the replacement of prisons with precautionary measures, such as the use of electronic ankle bracelets and the prohibition of access to TCE-MT facilities.
The defenses alleged a lack of recent facts that would justify maintaining the prisons and argued that alternative measures would be sufficient. In Adriangelo's case, the lawyers also mentioned that he was dismissed from his position in November 2026 and cited health problems.
The arguments were not accepted. According to the decisions, elements of the investigation indicate that the scheme continued to be active in 2026, including records of new withdrawals in May.
The minister also considered that removal from office and the use of electronic ankle bracelets would not be sufficient to prevent the movement of large amounts of cash outside the banking system.
