The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI), which investigates betting websites (Bets CPI), faces a serious crisis after a heated discussion between senators Ciro Nogueira (PP-PI) and Soraya Thronicke (Podemos-MS), CPI rapporteur .
The tension began when Thronicke mentioned the possibility of calling on the “Bolsonaro government” to explain why the sector had not been regulated during the former president’s administration.
Ciro Nogueira, who was chief minister of the Civil House, questioned the need for this call, leading to an exchange of harsh words between the two parliamentarians.
“Can you explain to me why you should call the Bolsonaro government?” asked Ciro Nogueira. Thronicke justified his position by stating that “the Bolsonaro government had two years to regulate, but it didn’t”. The discussion quickly escalated, with Ciro Nogueira warning that “in a little while it will be you who will have to give a lot of explanations here”.
Alleged extortion
However, the case took a more serious turn when Ciro Nogueira sought out the president of Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), to inform him about alleged extortion involving a well-known lobbyist from Brasília and members of the Bets CPI.
Ciro Nogueira stated that lobbyist Silvio de Assis demanded money from businesspeople linked to the betting sector to prevent them from being summoned to testify at the CPI.
The scheme, as described by Ciro Nogueira, would involve parliamentarians submitting summons requests, followed by the lobbyist approaching companies to ask for money in exchange for influencing the CPI’s decision.
The Federal Police are investigating the case after a businessman in the sector confirmed that the lobbyist approached him and demanded 40 million reais to reverse the summons.
Soraya Thronicke refuted the insinuations, stating that she knows the lobbyist, but denied any involvement with the alleged scheme. She also revealed that she had received an audio message in which a senator asked for 100 million reais to “resolve the matter with Soraya”, suggesting that her name was being used inappropriately to insult her.
The Bets CPI in crisis
The CPI das Bets, installed in November, has a deadline of five months to complete the work. So far, the eighteen senators have presented 360 requests, approved 230 and heard only six witnesses. The current crisis led Rodrigo Pacheco to consider the possibility of closing the commission’s work before it is necessary to create a CPI to investigate the CPI.
