Moraes Orders Rio Lawmaker Held, Blocks Alerj From Overturning Arrest

Overview

• Alexandre de Moraes, who ruled on Wednesday, ordered state deputy Thiago Rangel to stay in preventive custody and barred the Rio assembly from voting on his release.
• The case centers on an alleged scheme that steered school contracts to preselected firms and hid the money through front men and a network of gas stations.
• Rangel, taken into custody on Tuesday in the fourth phase of the Federal Police’s Unha e Carne operation, was arrested alongside aides and education officials named by investigators.
• In a separate investigation, Operation Consorte in Ceará and Belo Horizonte tracked more than R$500 million through the financial arm of a criminal group, according to integrated task force Ficco.
• Also on Wednesday, São Paulo prosecutors rejected plea deals from businessmen known as Beto Louco and Primo in the Carbono Oculto fuel‑fraud probe, citing gaps and withheld details.