President of the Chamber and councilman of Guarapuava accused of alleged corruption scheme

The president of Câmara Municipal of Guarapuava, Pedro Moraes (MDB), and the councilor Danilo Dominico (PP) were denounced by the Public Prosecutor of Paraná (MPPR) on suspicion of involvement in a corruption scheme related to the regularization of a building destined for a pharmacy. The complaint also involves a municipal public servant and a pharmaceutical entrepreneur.

According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the investigation identified deposits totaling R$ 99,650 in bank accounts of public agents. The payments would have been made to facilitate the regularization of a construction that began without approval of the architectural project and without a license to build.

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The case is part of Operation Magic Formula, launched in August 2026. At the time, 20 search and seizure warrants authorized by the Justice were executed. The investigations also investigate the possible participation of other people in the scheme.

Construction began without permission

According to the complaint, construction of the building began in 2019, without prior approval of the architectural project and without obtaining a building permit. Between 2022 and 2023, the entrepreneur responsible for the venture would have tried to regularize the situation. However, the Municipal Secretariat of Housing and Urbanism embargoed the work after identifying irregularities considered unsanitary by the technical sectors.

At the end of August 2023, according to the investigation, one of the businessmen sought Pedro Moraes, then president of Câmara Municipal, to request help in the release of the construction.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office maintains that, in the following days, the first undue advantage payment would have taken place so that public officials could mediate the regularization. A second installment would have been paid after the completion of the procedure.

The deposits identified in the accounts of the mayor, the then municipal secretary of Housing and Urbanism and a server of the tax area totaled R $ 99,650, according to MPPR.

The documents were signed after the refusal of the technicians.

The complaint points out that Pedro Moraes would have acted so that Danilo Dominico, who held the position of municipal secretary of Housing and Urbanism at the time, promoted the regularization of the work. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, professionals in the technical area would have refused to sign the necessary documents for the approval of the project.

Given the situation, Dominico would have personally signed the building permit, the certificate of completion of the work and the approval of the project, despite not having training in Civil Engineering or Architecture.

The agency also points to possible irregularities in the collection of taxes related to the regularization of the property.

According to the complaint, a server who held the position of collection director would have replaced the valuation carried out by a real estate appraiser, reducing the value of the tax due for the regularization of the construction by means of onerous concession. The amendment would have benefited the entrepreneurs involved.

What crimes are pointed out by the Public Prosecutor’s Office?

The complaint attributes to those involved, according to the conduct investigated, possible crimes of criminal association, administrative advocacy, prevarication, active corruption, passive corruption, functional crime against the tax order and laundering of assets.

The investigation was conducted by the Specialized Group on the Protection of Public Heritage and the Fight against Administrative Improbity (Gepatria) and by the 7th Attorney General of Guarapuava.

In addition to the four complainants, the Public Prosecutor’s Office continues to investigate the possible participation of a Câmara Municipal server and other partners of the pharmacy.

What do the respondents say?

Pedro Moraes denied the accusations and said he intends to prove his innocence before the courts. In a demonstration released to the press, the mayor declared that he did not practice the crimes attributed to him and that his defense will present clarifications during the process.

The Câmara Municipal of Guarapuava reported that it follows the developments of the case, respects the work of the institutions and defends the right to a wide range of defense and contradictory. The House also said it remains at the disposal of authorities.

The defense of Danilo Dominico contested the accusation. According to the counsel of the councilor, there would not be sufficient evidence to justify the imputation of crimes, especially in the absence of evidence that the parliamentary received values or obtained economic benefit related to the company investigated.

The defense also stressed that the offering of the complaint by the Public Prosecutor’s Office does not mean acknowledgment of guilt and that it is up to the Judiciary to examine whether the accusation will be received.

What happens now?

With the offering of the complaint, it is up to the Judiciary to analyze the elements presented by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and decide whether the accusation will be received. If this occurs, the proceedings may proceed to the instruction phase, in which the evidence will be examined and the parties heard. In the end, the court may decide on the conviction or acquittal of the accused.

Until there is a court decision, the accused are entitled to the presumption of innocence.