The investigation that revealed the INSS pension fraud scheme has advanced on a new front. Appointed by the Federal Police as one of the main operators in the case, Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes, tried to coordinate business with the Ministry of Health involving medicines based on cannabisrapid dengue tests and infant nutrition products. The initiatives did not result in contracts, according to official information from the ministry. The revelations are from G1.
The lobbyist’s movements with the ministry appear in exchanges of messages obtained by the PF and published by the portal, which became part of the Federal Police investigation.
The investigation gained visibility after the launch of Operation Without Discount, in April 2025, which investigates deviations in social security benefits. In a decision that authorized a new phase of the operation, Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court, identified Health as a “possible new area of activity” for the group and ordered the opening of an administrative investigation by the National Health Surveillance Agency.
One of the fronts involved World Cannabis, a company linked to the lobbyist, according to the portal. Messages from December 2024 indicate internal discussions about the review of the Anvisa resolution that regulates the manufacture and import of food products. cannabis.
In the dialogues, references appear to meetings with members of the Ministry’s leadership and the preparation of draft terms of reference for a possible public purchase of cannabidiol. Shared documents suggested acquisition without bidding and targeting specific companies. Negotiations, however, did not progress.
In a statement, the Ministry of Health stated that it does not purchase or supply cannabidiol and that the product is not part of the SUS.
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Change of route
In January 2025, the focus of conversations moved to rapid dengue tests, according to the PF investigation revealed by G1. WhatsApp records show preparations for meetings and the drafting of a new term of reference providing for emergency purchase, also without bidding, of kits from a foreign manufacturer.
The messages indicate an attempt to synchronize the offer with the peak of the disease in the country. Despite this, the ministry reported that the tests mentioned had previously been acquired through regular bidding, without any link with the lobbyist. A later technical note recommended the use of the tests, but the Ministry maintains that the purchase followed a process that began months earlier.
New market
Another attempt involved infant nutrition products, through a partnership with a company from Goiás and Indústria Química do Estado de Goiás (Iquego), as part of a Ministry innovation program.
A memorandum provided for consultancy work by a lobbyist’s company and technology transfer. According to Health, the proposal was analyzed and rejected in 2025, without generating payments or contracts.
The former executive secretary of Health mentioned in the messages stated, through Planalto, that he received company representatives on an institutional visit recorded in the public agenda, without any developments. The companies involved say that the projects did not prosper and that there were no financial transfers.
For investigators, the central suspicion is that resources diverted from the INSS have been used to structure companies and open doors in sensitive areas of public administration.
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The PF continues to analyze the content of the messages and the possible responsibility of public agents, while Anvisa was called to verify possible administrative irregularities.
