Senator Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP) released a statement this Friday (29) in which he says he is the victim of “an unprecedented smear campaign.” In the text, he recalled that a few weeks ago, through another press release, he said that he “would not accept being threatened, intimidated or blackmailed”. In reaffirming the position, the senator reported that he has received “all kinds of warnings, sent by unknown persons, who claim to have information about an orchestration of false claims” against him.
Alcolumbre said he was “surprised by a complaint that points to the alleged hiring of phantom employees and even the reprehensible confiscation of wages”. “I never, under any circumstances, at any time, have I dealt with, looked for, suggested or got involved in the aforementioned facts, which I only learned about now,” he said, adding that he will take the necessary steps for the competent authorities to investigate the facts.
The note is a response to an article published in the latest issue of the magazine Look. In it, the congressman, who is currently chairman of the main committee of the Senate, the Constitution and Justice (CCJ), is accused of a scheme of cracks, valued at R$ 2 million. The practice was denounced by six former employees of the senator and would have happened between January 2016 and March this year, including during the period in which Alcolumbre occupied the presidency of the Senate.
Also according to the report, six women were hired in this scheme as advisors to the congressman in Brasília with salaries between R$4,000 and R$14,000, in addition to benefits and severance pay. They would have been instructed to open an account and hand over the cards and passwords. The full withdrawal of amounts took place right after payment at an ATM located 200 meters from the senator’s office.
“I will continue to exercise my mandate without fear and without bowing to threats, intimidation, blackmail or spurious attempts to associate my name with any irregularity. It is clear and evident that this is an orchestration for a political and institutional issue by the CCJ and the Federal Senate”, says Davi Alcolumbre in another excerpt of the note.