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57m ago

Brazil Federal Police Detail 'Stipends' to Lula Family Associate as Education Supplier Is Jailed

Investigators cite cash transfers plus a luxury car as signs of influence‑peddling tied to public education contracts.

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Empresário investigado por fraude na Educação pagou R$ 210 mil em ‘mesadas’ a amigo de Lula.

Overview

  • Operation Coffee Break, ordered by the Federal Court in Campinas, led to the preventive arrest of businessman André Gonçalves Mariano and searches that seized a cellphone, computer and a notebook from Carla Ariane Trindade.
  • The inquiry says Mariano transferred R$210,000 in recurring payments to Kalil Bittar between November 2022 and February 2024.
  • Police state there are strong indications a BMW 540i bought by Life Educacional served as compensation to Bittar, who had use of the car since at least 2023.
  • Agents went to Bittar’s listed address in Brasília but did not find him; his lawyer says he lives in Portugal and has moved to formally participate in the case.
  • Evidence cited includes WhatsApp exchanges and Mariano’s notes outlining efforts to court federal bodies and PT-led states, plus a May 2024 meeting with Bittar in Lisbon referencing a “Transferência 540.”