CGU points out irregularities of BRL 2 billion in aid paid during the Bolsonaro government
According to the audits released by the Comptroller General of the Union, it was found that a total of 356,773 individuals received benefit installments to which they had no legal right.
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The Federal Comptroller General (CGU) informed this Friday (2), that audits revealed the occurrence of irregular payments in the approximate amount of BRL 2 billion in aid granted by the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro to truck drivers and taxi drivers during the second half of 2022. According to the CGU, around 356,773 individuals received installments without having the legal right to the resources.
irregularities
From July to December 2022, the truck drivers and taxi drivers received a monthly allowance of R$ 1,000. This initiative was approved by Congress in order to mitigate the effects of instability in oil prices on the world market, which had a direct impact on fuel costs in the country.
During the process of registering beneficiaries and making payments, the previous government would have irregularly included a total of 110,051 people in the Truck Driver Assistance and another 314,025 people in the Taxi Driver Assistance. According to the CGU, these numbers represent 27.3% and 78% of the total beneficiaries of each program, respectively. These individuals received up to R$ 7,000 each, even without being entitled to the benefit. It is important to note that this situation occurred during the period when President Jair Bolsonaro was seeking re-election.
Taxi Driver Assistance
According to the CGU, the inadequate payment of aid for taxi drivers resulted in a significant drain on public resources. Of the 314,025 beneficiaries of the program (representing 78% of all beneficiaries), it was found that 246,722 individuals did not meet the criteria for granting of the benefit and thus received the aid irregularly. The amount disbursed to these people reached R$1.395 billion, representing 5% of the total amount of R$1.84 billion paid.
In the audit carried out, it was found that such individuals who received the benefit did not have the legally established right to do so. For example, some of them had expired driving licenses or were not insured persons of the general pension scheme. In addition, people with an irregular CPF, residing abroad and even with a death registered in some government system were identified.
Truck driver assistance
With regard to aid given to truck drivers, the CGU found that 110,051 of the 402,773 applicants (27.32% of beneficiaries) did not meet the eligibility criteria to receive the benefit. According to the report, the amount fully paid to these people totaled approximately R$582.8 million, representing 25% of the total amount disbursed, which was R$2.32 billion.
As with taxi drivers, there is a diversity of irregularities on the list. Cases were found of truck drivers who were registered in the aid, but did not have an active record in the National Register of Road Cargo Carriers until the established date. In addition, some of these truck drivers were receiving other benefits, such as unemployment insurance and unemployment insurance. Similarly, there are beneficiaries with irregular CPF, as well as death records in government systems. There are also cases of people who received the benefit, but hold public positions or jobs within the federal administration.
Federal Comptroller General
The CGU issued a recommendation to Dataprev, the company in charge of data processing and generation of benefit payrolls, requesting it to adopt appropriate measures to reimburse the amounts unexpectedly paid to these beneficiaries. So far, Dataprev has not commented on the report.
