In a statement this Thursday (20), the businesswoman said that she introduced her friend Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Careca do, before.
She said she “was afraid that this contact could be politically exploited, as in fact has been happening”, after the operation, which resulted in Careca’s arrest.
Roberta is the target of investigations by Sem Desconto, which investigates suspected deviations in INSS discounts, due to the business she had with Careca.
Lulinha is the son of President Lula (PT) and, although not formally investigated, . Lulinha’s defense denies any irregularity.
To the PF, Roberta reaffirmed what her defense has been saying since the beginning of the investigation: that she effectively provided services to the lobbyist related to the regulation of the cannabidiol market in Brazil, and that she recognized him as a businessman in the pharmaceutical sector, about whom there were no suspicions of irregularities.
According to Roberta, she did not know the origin of the resources that financed Careca’s medical cannabis company. She said she believed that these were “Antônio Camilo Antunes’ own resources, arising from his extensive and recognized work in the pharmaceutical market.”
Roberta admitted to being friends with Lulinha and his wife and stated that the president’s son did not provide any service related to the regulation of cannabidiol nor was he paid for it, directly or indirectly.
He also stated that he did not pass any amount to Lulinha. She was questioned by the PF about a trip that Lula’s son took to Portugal with Careca.
The businesswoman said she was not on the trip, but learned that “it was a business prospecting and research trip, something outside the scope of her service provision.”
“Fabio [Luís] was invited due to his curiosity regarding the subject, arising also from the
use of cannabidiol-based medication by family members”, stated the businesswoman.
In a note after the testimony, Roberta’s lawyers, Bruno Salles and Marco Chies Martins, said that she answered all questions and that “she has been the target of a real defamatory campaign.”
“Her trajectory was eclipsed in a very misogynistic and prejudiced way, being reported as an heiress, friend, partner, representative, socialite or even, more commonly, and in a pejorative way, as a ‘lobbyist'”, says the note.
According to them, the clarifications made to the police “completely reveal the accusatory thesis initially designed and selectively leaked in a systematic way”.
“We hope that after the testimony, with the conclusion of the investigations, the investigations in relation to him will be closed, given the demonstration of the absolute non-existence of any illicit conduct.”
Antonio Camilo, the INSS’s Careca, is suspected of fraud and undue deductions in retirement and pensions.
The suspicions of Operation Without Discount target a scheme that would have deducted around R$6.3 billion from INSS beneficiaries between 2019 and 2024.
The fraud consists of unauthorized associative discounts on retirement and pensions.
The associative discount model, which allows direct deductions from pensions upon authorization from beneficiaries, has become the target of manipulation by shell entities in recent years.
The inquiries are reported by the minister of the (Supreme Federal Court).
