Brazilian
Police Arrest 11 Alleged
Racketeers
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil's
Federal Police on Monday arrested 11 people
on charges of fraud involving public
contracts totalling 219 million reais (118.3
million U.S. dollars).
The arrests, part of the police force's
Operation Pacenas to clean up public bidding
processes, took place in Cuiaba, capital
city of the midwestern state Mato Grosso,
after the issuing of 22 search warrants.
People arrested include politicians,
constructional businessmen, trade union
representatives and a city prosecutor. They
are accused of defrauding bidding processes
for social projects that are part of a
nation-wide social program.
According to the police, the accused altered
bidding regulations to help particular
companies to win bids.
The prices in the contracts were also
altered. About 10 million reais (5.4 million
U.S. dollars) of the contracts total had
already been paid to companies.
The accused have been charged with three
crimes, including fraud. The sentences for
each crime range from three months to three
years in prison, plus high fines.
The defending attorneys stated that they
considered the arrest premature and said
they intended to file for habeas corpus.
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