The president of the CBPA (Brazilian Confederation of Fisheries and Aquaculture Workers), Abraão Lincoln Ferreira da Cruz, was arrested in the early hours of this Tuesday (4), after giving a statement to the CPMI (Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) of the INSS (National Social Security Institute).
The arrest was ordered by the president of the commission, senator Carlos Viana (Podemos-MG), who gave the deponent false testimony. According to the parliamentarian, Abraão had “lied repeatedly” throughout the hearing, contradicting information already collected by the commission.
“He contradicted himself on at least four occasions,” said Viana in an interview after the end of the session.
“He tried to hide in every way that he continued the same scheme, this time expanding it, not only taking from fishermen, but also from retirees. He ended up in prison because he lied to the CPMI”, he added.
After the session ended, Abraão was escorted by the Legislative Police.
During the press conference given after the arrest, Carlos Viana stated that the testimony confirmed further CPMI suspicions about the use of associations to scam retirees and pensioners, through the purchase of lists of INSS beneficiaries.
“He confirmed what the CPMI has been putting together piece by piece, that the associations used the same scheme to deceive retirees, buying lists of names from the same supplier, Mr Antônio Carlos Camilo, known as Careca from INSS”, said the senator.
According to Viana, the investigations indicate that “two, three or perhaps four career civil servants” from the institute would be mainly responsible for the corruption and misappropriation of resources.
“These people were present at all times when the coups took place. The commission is moving towards the final tests in relation to these employees, who, in my opinion, are the nucleus that has greatly harmed the country’s Social Security today”, he declared.
A, which determines undue associative discounts applied to the benefits of retirees and pensioners.
In a report, the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union) pointed out that the confederation moved R$221.8 million between February 2023 and March 2025, amounts considered undue.
The AGU (Attorney General of the Union) classified the entity as “facade”, stating that it does not have a structure compatible with the number of registered members.
Abraão Lincoln had already been judicially removed from the presidency of the former CNPA (National Confederation of Fishermen and Aquaculturists), on suspicion of irregular sale of fishing licenses, and faces charges of corruption and money laundering.
