Five Turilândia Councilors Move to House Arrest as Mayor Remains Jailed in Maranhão Corruption Probe

Overview

• After surrendering on December 25, five councilors had their custody converted to home confinement with electronic monitoring to preserve municipal governance.
• The 3rd Criminal Chamber of the TJ-MA had ordered arrests for Mayor Paulo Curió, Vice Mayor Tânia Mendes and multiple councilors, and prosecutors say all warrants have now been executed.
• The court kept preventive detention for Paulo Curió, first lady Eva Curió, ex–vice mayor Janaína Lima, Marlon Serrão and accountant Wandson Barros, while authorizing chamber president José Luis Araújo to serve as interim mayor under house arrest.
• Prosecutors allege a structured scheme from 2021 to 2025 used shell firms and fake invoices to divert roughly R$56 million, including about R$43 million tied to health and social assistance.
• Investigative files cite messages and audio, a 10%–15% commission to companies, a 3% operator fee for Barros and payments to Posto Turi totaling about R$17.2 million for services not performed.