Brazilian
police on Monday the 26th of March is said to have arrested Jose Ronaldo Ribeiro. Ribeiro is the Bishop of Formosa, a diocese in Brazil. The Bishop’s
arrest comes after allegations that he, with other Catholic clergymen of the
diocese had stolen and embezzled about $608,000 from diocese’s coffers.
Following a police raid on one of the priests' home,
the Brazilian security agents found over £19,200 in plastic bags hidden in a
secret storage space in a false wall of the residence. Allegedly, the money was
stolen over a 3 year period. Some sources say the money is from tithes,
donations, fundraising events and from fees collected for ceremonies such as
baptisms and weddings organized by or in the diocese.
Brazilian prosecutors, hold that Bishop Jose Ribeiro
who was appointed to the Formosa diocese in 2014 has been under suspicion for
leading a sophisticated scheme that diverted funds from church coffers on a
yearly basis. After complaints from parishioners, investigations on the Bishop
and his gang began sometime last year. Using phone taps and bugs, the Brazilian
Police was able to uncovered a
sophisticated web of deceit and corruption from conversations that revealed the
modus operandi of the Bishop’s triad. This discovery also gave insights on the
groups’ laundering of the money by purchasing cattle ranches, a lottery agency,
phones, luxury cars, designer watches and gold chains.
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