The Advocacy General of the Union (AGU) will resume the execution of the debt of more than R$ 800 million of the OK Construções e Incorporações S/A Group, commanded by the businessman and former senator Luiz Estevão de Oliveira Neto. The debt is related to the condemnation of the business group by the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), for embezzlement of public resources during the construction of the Regional Labor Court (TRT) in São Paulo. The case of fraud in the construction of the São Paulo TRT had been stalled in Federal Justice for six years. But, in a judgment session on Monday (5), the 8th Panel of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) unanimously rejected Grupo OK’s appeal. The business group intended to oblige the Union to register the credit as overdue debt and include it in a program to refinance tax credits from federal agencies. However, the judges of the 8th Panel of the TRF1 accepted the AGU’s arguments that the TCU’s conviction has the legal nature of a non-tax credit and does not necessarily require enrollment in overdue debt. The TRF1 also understood that there is a legal impossibility of combining several tax installment laws to create an unforeseen hypothesis of inclusion of Union credits, in a specific tax installment program of federal agencies. With this week’s decision in favor of the AGU, the precautionary decision that since 2017 has paralyzed the execution of the debt and the effective return to the public coffers of the misappropriated amounts loses its effects. Now, the Union will be able to receive R$ 112 million deposited in court for the attachment of rents that were paid to the OK Group, for properties rented to federal agencies and authorities, in Brasília. Another measure being studied by the AGU to recover the remaining amount of the debt is the adjudication of properties belonging to the OK Group that are pledged and are of interest to the Federal Heritage Secretariat (SPU). The adjudication of real estate can be requested when there is an outstanding debt, and the creditor, in this case the Union, resorts to this judicial act to ensure the payment of what is owed. Delays The trial at TRF1 took place after the AGU filed a representation with the National Council of Justice (CNJ) against the delay in the judgment of the case, by two judges of the TRF of the 1st Region, as there was no forecast for the continuation of the trial. In the text of the representation, the AGU emphasizes that “the conduct characterized procedural bad faith, since the OK Group did not comply with the judicial agreement formed for the payment of the debt, since [este] contained an express clause waiving the insertion of the debt in overdue debt”. In May, the representation for exceeding the deadline was partially accepted by the national justice inspector, the minister of the Superior Court of Justice, Luis Felipe Salomão. Based on the representation of the AGU, the national inspector ordered the Internal Affairs Department of the Federal Court to investigate any unjustified delays in the analysis of the process that discusses the payment of the debt. The regional coordinator for the Recovery of Assets of the Regional Attorney’s Office in the 1st Region, of the AGU, Marcio Scarpim de Souza, evaluates the decision of the TRF1, after waiting six years. “This case is of great relevance to AGU, both due to its economic dimension and the need for responses by institutions in the face of major corruption scandals and fraud in large-scale public works.” The case Fraud in the construction of the labor forum in São Paulo arose from a scheme between Incal Incorporações, linked to businessman Fábio Monteiro de Barros, and Grupo OK, owned by Luiz Estevão, to participate in the bidding process, opened in 1992 by the then president of the Court Regional Labor Office of the 2nd Region, Judge Nicolau dos Santos Neto, who died in 2020. According to the Federal Public Ministry, they committed a series of irregularities, such as overpricing for materials, advance payments and illicit transfers to bank accounts, in Brazil and the outside. Another side Sought by Agência Brasil, businessman Luiz Estevão stated that the debt has already been paid, as the retained amount, deposited in court, would be sufficient to resolve the issue. “During the period from 2016 to 2023, which the discussion on this process lasted, the AGU continued to pledge credit amounts from our companies. Due to these pledges, the amount pledged is already sufficient to settle debts”.
Agência Brasil
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