Minister André Mendonça authorized influencer not to attend

The Senate’s Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on the Manipulation of Games and Sports Betting appealed this Monday (28) to the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to suspend Minister André Mendonça’s decision that barred the testimony of digital influencer Deolane Bezerra.

The hearing was scheduled for this Tuesday (29), but the influencer was authorized by the minister not to attend the CPI.

.The appeal was presented by the president of the commission, senator Jorge Kajuru (PSB-GO). The parliamentarian asks the minister to reconsider his decision and maintains that Deolane was summoned as a witness and must give testimony.

“Giving testimony as a witness, [qualquer cidadão] has the obligation to tell the truth in relation to other facts that are not the subject of investigation in sanctioning procedures, and especially to facts pertinent to third parties, which may elucidate the object of the investigation”, argues the senator.

In September of this year, Deolane was arrested as part of investigations by Operation Integration, by the Pernambuco Civil Police. The influencer is accused of creating a betting website to launder money from illegal games. The action was taken against a gang suspected of moving around R$3 billion in a gambling money laundering scheme.

Days later, she was released after benefiting from a habeas corpus granted by the Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJPE) and responds to the charges in freedom.

The CPI is also considering calling singer Gusttavo Lima to the stand. The country singer was named in the investigations as a partner of a betting site targeted in the process in which Deolane is being investigated.