Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
The scheme consisted of diverting money through unauthorized deductions applied to pensions, with the funds being dispersed across several companies. The businessman at the center of the investigation had business in Portugal.
Portugal emerges as one of the international connection points for one of the biggest financial scandals recent in Brazil.
The investigation, conducted by the Brazilian Federal Police as part of the call Operation Without Discountestimates that around 6.3 billion reais (approximately 1.06 billion euros) were diverted between 2019 and 2024 through unauthorized associative discounts applied to pensions paid by the National Social Security Institute.
According to Público, at the center of the scheme is the Brazilian businessman Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes. Although he did not hold any position in the pension system, Antunes would have facilitated the connection between entities that received the discounts and business structures used to disperse and hide the amounts.
The case gained a political dimension after references to Fábio Luís Lula da Silvaknown as “Lulinha” and son of President Lula da Silva, and senator Flavio Bolsonaroson of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
According to statements collected by the Federal Police, a former Antunes employee stated that the businessman would have paid “Lulinha” an allowance of around 300 thousand reais (around 50 thousand euros) and made additional transfers that could reach 25 million. The Brazilian president’s son was not indicted, but authorities lifted his banking, tax and telematic secrecy. Data presented to a parliamentary commission of inquiry indicate that it will have moved around 3.6 million euros in four years, amounts that the defense says result from legitimate business activity.
In the case of Flavio Bolsonaroparliamentarians asked for the confidentiality of people linked to companies associated with the former president’s son to be broken. However, so far he has not been the subject of any charges.
Companies in Portugal
Portugal appears in investigations as a business platform and possible destination for investments linked to the Antunes circle. Corporate records show that the businessman and people close to him created several companies in the country. Among them is Candango Consulting, incorporated in Porto in December 2024, and Assunto Norteador – Advertising Agency, created shortly before at the same address on Avenida da Boavista.
A recurring figure in these initiatives is the Brazilian publicist Danielle Miranda Fontelespreviously involved in Operation Acronimo, an investigation into illegal financing of political campaigns in Brazil.
Another aspect of the group’s Portuguese presence appears linked to a medical cannabis project in Aveiro. Messages published by the Brazilian press indicate that Fonteles coordinated a group that evaluated an investment of around three million euros related to the company Sync Nature, based in Vila Nova de Gaia.
The Brazilian investigation is still ongoing and has already led to searches, arrests and the constitution of several defendants. In Portugal, to date, there is no known judicial investigation.
