Brazil's Federal Police served 24 search and seizure warrants on Thursday, September 17, against Bruno Barral, former education secretary of Belo Horizonte, the businessman José Marcos Moura, known as the "Rei do Lixo" (Trash King), and his partner Alex Parente. The raids are the tenth phase of Operation Overclean, authorized by Supreme Court Justice Kassio Nunes Marques, who oversees the case, and target suspected contract fraud and bid rigging at the education secretariat of the capital of Minas Gerais state.
According to the Federal Police, between April 2024 and April 2025 the political core of a criminal organization based in Bahia state allegedly placed members inside the secretariat to steer public contracts for services and school materials to companies tied to the group. Investigators identified six hiring processes, three of which became contracts worth nearly 84 million reais, with more than 77 million reais already paid out. Warrants were served in six states, and about 230,000 reais in cash were seized in the town of Ervália and in São Paulo, according to news site g1.
Who the targets are
Barral left the Belo Horizonte education secretariat in April 2025, after the third phase of Overclean. Before moving to the Minas Gerais capital he had been education secretary in Salvador, in the administration of ACM Neto, according to news site Metrópoles. CNN Brasil reports that investigators believe he joined Moura's group so that companies belonging to the businessman and to Alex Parente would be hired in Belo Horizonte.
Moura, who built his career in the urban sanitation business, and the brothers Fábio and Alex Parente have been Overclean targets since the operation began. According to a column by Mirelle Pinheiro at Metrópoles, the three were arrested in the first phase, launched in December 2024, and later released under precautionary measures. In August, the Federal Police formally indicted Moura and 24 other people in the branch of the case that investigates the diversion of congressional budget amendments. The same column reported that Congressman ACM Neto of União Brasil, a candidate for governor of Bahia, is formally under investigation on suspicion of taking part in the appointment of a secretary to the Belo Horizonte city government. Police asked the Supreme Court for a search warrant against him and federal prosecutors supported the request, but Justice Nunes Marques denied it on the grounds that the legal basis was insufficient. As a result, the congressman was not among Thursday's targets.
What each side says
In a statement, the Federal Police said:
"Those involved are under investigation for the crimes of frustrating the competitive nature of public bids, fraud in hiring and overpriced payments, embezzlement, passive and active corruption, membership in a criminal organization and money laundering."
The force describes the facts as suspicions and says the investigation is still running. None of the targets has been charged or convicted, and a police indictment in Brazil is an investigative step that does not establish guilt. G1 reported that it sought comment from the lawyers of the people under investigation and had received no reply by publication time.
Reached by TV Globo, the Belo Horizonte city government said the current administration signed no contracts for the purchase of school materials and that the municipal school system uses books from the federal PNLD program.
"The Education Secretariat stresses that it has received no request or demand related to the Overclean investigation, but stands fully at the disposal of the competent authorities and oversight bodies to provide any clarifications that may be necessary."
The case file sits with the Supreme Court under Nunes Marques. The Federal Police says other hiring processes are still being analyzed, which could raise the total amount under scrutiny, and that teams remain in the field. Once the inquiry is closed, federal prosecutors will decide whether to bring charges against the people under investigation. No date has been set.