A "World Cup-inspired renovation" of Rio’s emblematic Maracanã stadium "was marred by irregularities" that "improperly enriched construction firms" at the expense of the state government, public auditors said on Tuesday, according to Paul Kiernan of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. A report from the state auditing court, TCE, said that the alleged irregularities inflated by more than 17% per contract "to bring the stadium in line with FIFA regulations," . To compensate for the losses, the court ordered Rio’s state finance secretary to withhold payments of up to R$198.5M owed to construction firms Odebrecht SA, Andrade Gutierrez SA and Delta Construções SA. It "also demanded that the companies either pay back the money or present their defenses within 30 days." A Delta representative said in an email that the company exited the Maracanã consortium before the stadium was completed, "adding that it can’t be hit by the ruling because it has no more contracts with Rio." Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez "declined to comment on the matter." Completed in '14, the renovation of Maracanã "has long drawn suspicions of corruption" (WSJ, 7/6). In Rio de Janeiro, Lise Alves reported the renovation, originally estimated at R$705M, totaled approximately R$1.2B. According to Judge José Gomes Graciosa, "it would have been better to spend the amount on health and education" than on the stadium. All three construction companies "have been linked to the Lava-Jato mega-corruption scandal." The Maracanã stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Games (RIO TIMES, 7/6).
