São Paulo Police Probe Whether Wi-Fi Funds Paid for Bolsonaro Film

Sao Paulo Civil Police carried out search-and-seizure warrants on June 1 against Instituto Conhecer Brasil (ICB), a nonprofit hired by City Hall to install free public Wi-Fi in poor communities, as part of an investigation into suspected fraud, misuse of public funds and possible money laundering. The NGO is owned by businesswoman Karina Ferreira da Gama, who is also linked to Go Up Entertainment, the production company behind Dark Horse, a film about former president Jair Bolsonaro. Police searched residential addresses tied to Gama, the offices of the NGO and the production company, and Sao Paulo's Municipal Secretariat for Innovation and Technology.

What Police Allege

The inquiry focuses on a contract with Sao Paulo City Hall that G1 reported was originally worth R$108 million, roughly USD 20 million at recent rates, for 5,000 free public Wi-Fi access points in the city's outskirts. Amendments signed under Mayor Ricardo Nunes, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), a centrist party, later raised the total to R$157.1 million. Police are investigating whether at least R$26 million was paid without the corresponding service being delivered. G1 reported in May that the NGO had presented R$16.5 million in irregular invoices under the contract.

According to Folha de S.Paulo, the investigation began after a request from the Sao Paulo State Public Prosecutor's Office (MPSP) and is examining suspected crimes including frustrating the competitive character of a bidding process, alongside the possibility that money connected to the contract indirectly financed the Bolsonaro film, including through subcontractors. No final finding of wrongdoing has been made. Investigators are also looking at suspected commingling of assets between the NGO and the production company.

Reactions

Mayor Nunes denied wrongdoing and suggested the inquiry may carry a political angle. "Why did this issue only come up now?" he said, according to O Globo, while City Hall maintained the contract followed legal and transparency rules and that the Wi-Fi program is operating normally. Folha reported that the operation unsettled Nunes, who spoke of "political persecution."

Gama, through her defense, said she was the target of extortion and procedural fraud, according to Veja.

The case has also drawn national political figures. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro said the police operation had "nothing to do" with the movie, according to Folha. Federal deputy Mario Frias, a Bolsonaro ally from the Liberal Party (PL) who is listed as a screenwriter and executive producer on Dark Horse, defended Gama after the operation. O Globo reported that Gama expanded her businesses after meeting Frias. Frias has denied that public money was diverted to the film.

The operation is one of two converging threads around the Dark Horse production: the Sao Paulo municipal Wi-Fi contract examined by state police and prosecutors, and a separate inquiry before the Supreme Federal Court into whether congressional earmarks were diverted to the film.