Federal Police Report Shows That Lula Instructed Renovation of Country House

07/29/2016 - 12h10

A report by the expert examination sector of the Brazilian Federal Police shows there is evidence that former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his wife, Marisa Letícia, instructed the renovation of the country house in Atibaia (SP) where he and his family used to stay.

The experts say that the plans for the renovation of the country house began in September 2010 and the work started at the beginning of November of the same year, while Lula was still in office in his second administration.

Specialists in charge of the evaluation say that the renovation of the country house continued until October 2014 and had a total cost of R$ 1.2 million (US$ 363,000).

The analysis of the kitchen equipment in the country house carried out for the report also shows that the "project was coordinated by an architect of contractor OAS, Mr. Paulo Gordilho, with the consent of OAS's president, Léo Pinheiro, and guided by former president Lula and wife, as indicated in the conversations of the company's architect and Fernando Bittar."

The document shows messages exchanged between Léo Pinheiro and Gordilho, in which the latter refers to the country house as "Lula's farm" and says that the subject must be dealt with in "absolute secrecy."

The Brazilian Federal Police's Lava Jato operation is investigating whether contractors Odebrecht and OAS benefitted illegally former president Lula, who says he is not the owner of the house.

The report will be analyzed by the task force and decide if Lula will be accused of money laundering through misrepresentation of assets for the renovation carried out by the contractors in the Atibaia country house.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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