Prosecutors want rid of Acre governor over corruption charges

The Federal Prosecution Office asked for Gladson Cameli, the governor of the Amazonian state of Acre, to be immediately suspended from office to face corruption charges. The Superior Court of Justice, the second-highest judicial body in Brazil, will analyze the request. 

Mr. Cameli and 12 other people (including his wife and two brothers) are accused of forming a criminal ring to defraud the state of Acre. They allegedly carried out crimes of embezzlement, corruption, and money laundering — siphoning almost BRL 12 million (USD 2.4 million) from the state’s coffers.

This criminal ring has operated since 2019, according to prosecutors. Public works were reportedly overpriced so that the surplus could be used to bribe public officials. Besides the governor and members of his family, advisers, business leaders, and reported owners of dummy bank accounts are involved in the scandal. All deny wrongdoing.

The luxurious lifestyle of Mr. Cameli’s family, with imported cars and a million-dollar mansion in Miami, caught the attention of the investigators. They suspect that the items were purchased with embezzled money.

Mr. Cameli is serving his second term as governor. He was twice elected to represent his state in the House and once in the Senate. 

In March this year, the Federal Police had already frozen BRL 10 million in funds from the governor’s bank accounts, and seized cars, properties, and a plane. The police estimate that his net worth reaches BRL 21 million. To electoral courts, however, Mr. Cameli informed in his mandatory asset declaration a net worth of BRL 5 million.

The Cameli family is no stranger to scandal. In the late 1990s, one of his family members was linked to a drug kingpin known at the time as the “Coke King” in Acre.

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