Trump Investment Is Target of Investigation in Brazil

10/27/2016 - 12h04

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RUBENS VALENTE

FROM BRASÍLIA

The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Brasília has confirmed to the Federal Justice that an investment fund created under the FGTS (Employment Guarantee Retirement Fund) system and administered by the federal government's state-owned bank Caixa, "suspiciously favored" the Trump Organization, an economic group of businessman and Republican Party candidate for President of the United States, Donald Trump.

The target of suspicion is a five-tower corporate office complex in Rio, each tower measuring 150 meters tall, known as the Trump Towers Rio, which was announced in 2012 but has yet to leave the drawing board.

According to prosecutor Anselmo Henrique Cordeiro Lopes, the undertaking is "the object of an interdisciplinary investigation" of the Operação Greenfield (Greenfield Operation), which is investigating fraud in retirement funds.

The evidence manifest was sent to judge Vallisney de Souza Oliveira, of the 10th Federal Court in Brasília, in rectification of an accusation made in July by the Federal Prosecutor General's Office against, among others, former congressman Eduardo Cunha (PMDB-RJ) and Henrique Eduardo Alves (PMDB-RN).

The judge accepted the case on Wednesday (the 26th) and ordered the opening of a criminal case against the group for allegedly receiving kickbacks in exchange for releasing FI-FGTS funds for private projects.

Resources from the FGTS investment fund were used by the Caixa to purchase land in Rio's portuary zone, an area known as the Porto Maravilha (Marvelous Port), where the Trump Towers were announced.

Without providing more details, the Prosecutor's Office said that the investments "suspiciously favored the 'Trump Organization' group".

The Greenfield Operation, launched on the 5th of September, is investigating alleged favoritism and improper advantages provided to financing projects backed by investment funds from state-owned companies, which eventually led to losses estimated at R$ 8 billion (US$ 2,46 billion).

However, until the petition from Federal Prosecutor Anselmo Lopes was made public on Wednesday, it wasn't known whether the Trump business ventures were also a part of the investigation.

ANOTHER CASE

Trump's company is also cited in another part of the Prosecutor's manifest.

Lopes revealed that Greenfield is also investigating "another investment damaging to the Serpro Pension Fund", from Serpro's (Federal Data Processing Agency) employees, under the Economics Ministry and Igeprev (State of Tocantins Retirement Fund Management Institute).

According to the Prosecutor, the investor is the LSH fund, "which gave preferential treatment to the company LSH Barra Empreendimentos Imobiliários and the Trump Organization business group". The American group and LHS first announced the construction of the Trump Hotel Rio in 2014.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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