Former federal deputy Manuela d’Ávila charges more than R$1.5 million from the PSD of Belo Horizonte in the Minas Gerais Court for digital services provided to the campaign of Alexandre Kalil, former mayor of the capital of Minas Gerais, to the state government, in 2022.
Manuela d’Ávila founded a communications consultancy company in 2019 after giving up running for elected office.
The action, filed by D’Ávila and Schaidhauer, the name of the former parliamentarian’s company, in February this year, requires the PSD to pay R$ 1,590,373.85.
The initially agreed value for the services was R$1,000,000.00, to be paid in two installments — the first, of R$600,000.00, on August 20, 2022, and the second, of R$400,000.00 , until the fifth business day of September of that year.
The contract signed between the parties, to which the CNN had access, it established that, in case of default or delay in the stipulated payment, there would be a monthly fine corresponding to 2% of the monthly value of the contract, plus 1% interest and monetary correction — which is why the charge exceeds R$1, 5 million.
The term of the contract was agreed between August 15th, the start of the electoral campaign, and October 31st, the date of the second round of elections.
In addition to Manuela d’Ávila’s signature on the document, there is also the signature of the then president of the PSD in the capital of Minas Gerais, Adalclever Ribeiro Lopes, former state deputy and today one of the coordinators of presenter Mauro Tramonte’s (Republicans) campaign for Belo City Hall. Horizon.
See the contract:
Value was not declared to the Electoral Court
The contract provided for the “provision of services related to the coordination of a social media and communication team, consisting of the development of a network and communication strategy on social media” by Kalil.
Although the contract indicated that the services would be provided to Kalil’s campaign, the value was not declared to the Electoral Court in the then candidate’s accounts. Instead, Kalil declared expenses of R$1,530,000.00 with d’Ávila’s company related to another contract, signed directly by his campaign with the former deputy’s company.
In a search for the Electoral Justice system, the CNN only located a contract with Manuela d’Ávila’s company in the reporting of Kalil’s campaign.
The document was signed by the CNPJ of the candidate for governor’s campaign with D’Ávila & Schaidhauer Consultoria em Comunicação LTDA.
It contains four invoices with the following payments:
- 1st R$612 thousand
- 2nd R$ 535 thousand
- 3º R$ 1,000
- 4th R$ 382 thousand
These are the payments totaling R$1,530,000, described on Kalil’s page at DivulgaCandContas of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
See the contract contained in the Electoral Court:
The contract signed by the municipal directorate of the PSD of Belo Horizonte with Manuela ‘Ávila’s company, in turn, is not in the list of documents reporting to the Electoral Court.
A CNN found contact with the Regional Electoral Court of Minas Gerais (TRE-MG) which confirmed that the accountability data are the same as those verified by CNN on the Electoral Court website.
Expert points out signs of slush funds
In the assessment of Acacio Miranda, doctor in Constitutional Law from IDP-DF, the fact that the contract was not declared in Kalil’s financial statements in 2022 suggests signs of a slush fund crime — when there is evasion or falsification of information to hide resources received.
“Accountability has two purposes: the first is to prove that legal values were observed. So, for each election there is a spending limit for exactly that reason. This limit is calculated according to the second purpose, which is to maintain the smoothness of the electoral process”, explains Miranda.
“So that there is no economic abuse, you control this fairness based on electoral campaign expenses. In cases of spending beyond what was expected, one thing is natural: the candidate had more resources. And this is punished through slush funds.”
What does the Electoral Code say?
According to electoral legislation, spending resources beyond the established limits subjects those responsible to paying a fine equivalent to 100% of the amount exceeding the established limit.
The offender may also be liable for abuse of economic power, as provided for in article 22 of Complementary Law No. 64/1990 (Ineligibility Law), without prejudice to other applicable sanctions.
Article 350 of the Electoral Code, which provides for the crime of slush fund, provides for a penalty of “imprisonment of up to five years and payment of 5 to 15 days fine, if the document is public, and imprisonment of up to three years and payment of 3 to 10 fine days if the document is private”.
Furthermore, “if the agent of document falsification is a public employee and commits the crime using his position or if the falsification or alteration is of civil registration records, the penalty is increased”.
Wanted by CNNManuela d’Ávila’s lawyer, Lucas Lazari, stated that “the company will only comment on the case. Furthermore, it is restricted to waiting for the legal developments inherent to the process”.
The report contacted Kalil, Adalclever Lopes and the PSD and is awaiting their position.
