Audit Finds R$4.45 Million in Irregularities in Rio’s Programa Empoderadas

Overview

• The government audit released Thursday found about R$4.45 million in questionable 2025 spending on the Programa Empoderadas, including R$2.92 million paid as additional remuneration to 49 people already on the state payroll.
• Auditors identified R$1.53 million charged to six UERJ administrative units that had no link to the program, with specific payments traced to project administration, eSocial support and unrelated residency and seminar costs.
• The report documented major internal-control failures such as missing nominal links between staff and service sites, mismatched counts of active service 'polos', and quarterly reports that do not match the approved 2025 work plan.
• Following the audit, UERJ suspended new Empoderadas activities until the partnership is formalized and funds are decentralized, while more than 200 program workers say they have gone unpaid since January and have staged protests over months of missed salaries.
• The audit also flagged a conflict in digital reporting after program performance combined the institutional Instagram reach with the personal account of superintendent Érica Paes, and the state said the file will go to MPRJ, MPT and TCE‑RJ for possible legal, labor and fiscal follow‑up.