Wife of former Civil Police chief, arrested for participating in Marielle’s murder, withdrew R$760,000 in cash in 2 years

The Federal Police (PF) investigation reveals that Rivaldo Barbosa, suspected of involvement in the murder of councilor Marielle Franco, significantly increased his assets through illicit schemes. The information, which appears in the PF report, was published by the newspaper O Globo and confirmed by Earth.

According to banking analysis and the Financial Intelligence Reports of the Financial Activities Control Council (Coaf), it was proven that Erika Andrade de Almeida Araújo, wife of Rivaldo Barbosa, handled more than R$ 2.5 million in a period of two years, making cash withdrawals totaling more than R$760 thousand.

In the document, the PF states that, given the suspicions of atypical financial transactions and possible cases of money laundering involving two companies registered in the name of Rivaldo and Erika Araujo, a “further expansion and deepening of the range of financial information” is crucial. Erika Araujo is considered an intermediary figure for Rivaldo, who in fact managed the business.

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Also according to the PF, one of the companies, Mais I Consultoria Empresarial Ltda, informed the financial institution that it had monthly revenue of R$20,000. However, when analyzing the records of entry and exit of money in the accounts between June 2016 and the same month of 2018, it was found that there was a credit of R$1.072 million and a debit of R$1.141 million — more than twice the declared revenue for the period.

The investigators also mention that, in relation to debts, “the amount withdrawn in cash reached the amount of R$760,659.30, which represents almost 70% of total debit transactions”. “It was recorded that Erika withdrew the amount of R$ 155,300.00 and immediately deposited the funds at the cashier. R$ 564,524.70 were withdrawn at the self-service terminals and the amount of R$ 40,834.79 was withdrawn at the cashier’s counter and immediately an account was paid.”

The PF highlights that the practice “is commonly used when you want to make it difficult to trace money and, consequently, carry out money laundering, given the greater difficulty imposed in identifying the destination of the amount withdrawn.”

Investigators also indicated an “abrupt change” in the couple’s wealth evolution from 2015, when the first company was formed and Rivaldo took over the Capital’s Homicide Police Station.

At the conclusion of the report, the PF highlights that the statements presented by Lessa in the complaint have probative support, even if indicative, especially when analyzing Rivaldo’s history as head of the Homicide Division and the Civil Police. This analysis is reinforced when comparing this history with its patrimonial evolution and its actions that seem to aim to obstruct the investigation in question.