Mentions of Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, son of President Lula (PT) in investigations into the no (National Social Security Institute) have strained the government and provoked clashes with the opposition.
The investigations, conducted by Operação Sem Desconto, reached the president’s son through a lobbyist arrested in connection with the case, , and.
Although he is not indicted, by the (Supreme Federal Court), at the request of the PF itself. The joint CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) of the INSS, installed in Congress, .
Understand Lulinha’s connection with the INSS scandal and what is known about the case so far.
What is the INSS scandal?
Operation Without Discount, conducted by the PF in partnership with the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union), identifies one of INSS beneficiaries between 2019 and 2024. The fraud consisted of unauthorized associative discounts on retirement and pensions — charges made by shell entities that did not provide the promised services, such as medical insurance or funeral assistance.
The model that allowed fraud has been established by law since 1991, but grew disproportionately from 2019 onwards. When Congress eliminated the requirement for periodic revalidation of beneficiaries’ authorization — which allowed irregular charges to be maintained indefinitely.
Preventively in November. He is being investigated for keeping employees linked to the suspected group in strategic positions, even after internal complaints. The arrest was authorized by Mendonça, rapporteur of the STF investigation. Stefanutto denies direct participation in the scheme.
What is the PF investigating about Lulinha?
The PF investigates quotes made to Lulinha in investigations into the operation. One of the lines of investigation is the possibility that he, known as Careca from INSS and identified as one of the central operators of the fraud scheme.
Lulinha’s name also appeared in the INSS CPI after a report from the Poder360 portal showed that a witness told the PF in a statement that the president’s son received an allowance of R$300,000 from Careca from the INSS.
Furthermore, the businessman would have received, according to this same witness, the amount of 25 million (it is not known in which currency) from Careca of the INSS and made trips with the lobbyist to Portugal. The witness is Edson Claro, a former Careca employee.
Who is INSS Careca?
Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes, known as Careca from INSS, is the lobbyist appointed by the PF as one of the central operators of the fraud scheme in retirement discounts. He was arrested by the PF last September.
In a message seized by the PF, Antunes asks an operator to transfer R$300,000 to a company in the name of Roberta Luchsinger, a businesswoman close to Lulinha. When asked about the recipient of the money, Antunes replies that he would be “the boy’s son”. The corporation is investigating whether the expression referred to Fábio Luís.
In total, the businesswoman would have received R$1.5 million from the lobbyist, in installments. The PF points out that the company that made the transfers, Brasília Consultoria Empresarial Ltda., is a “front company for Antônio Camilo Antunes’ group”.
Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes’ defense claims that he is innocent.
Who is Roberta Luchsinger?
Roberta Moreira Luchsinger is a businesswoman, partner at RL Consultoria e Intermediações, and appears as one of the links between Lulinha and Careca from INSS in the investigations. According to the PF,. She was the target of a search and seizure at her address in the Higienópolis neighborhood, in São Paulo, in December.
The PF describes its activities as “essential for the concealment of assets, movement of values and management of bank accounts and business structures used as instruments of money laundering”. In seized messages, for example, she instructs Antunes to discard phones after a search and seizure.
Luchsinger is the heiress of a former shareholder in the former Credit Suisse bank. She is Lulinha’s friend. In 2017, he announced that he would make a million-dollar donation to Lula, who was then being investigated by Operation Lava Jato. She ran for state deputy in São Paulo for the PT in 2018, but was not elected.
Roberta’s defense claims that the transfers received are not related to the INSS, but result from a project in the area of cannabidiol developed with the lobbyist. According to the defense, the negotiations were only initial, did not succeed and took place before the revelations about the deviations in pensions.
Why was Lulinha’s banking secrecy broken?
The breach of Lulinha’s banking, tax and telematic secrecy was authorized by Minister André Mendonça, of the STF, at the request of the PF itself — which sent the request about a month before it became public. The measure was motivated by references to Lulinha in investigations into the operation, in particular the possibility of a hidden partnership with Careca from the INSS.
On the 26th, the INSS mixed CPI also approved the breaking of Lulinha’s tax and banking secrecy, in a session contested by government supporters, who accused the president of the commission, senator Carlos Viana (Podemos-MG), of having conducted the vote irregularly. The government bench filed a request for annulment.
Minister Flávio Dino, from the STF, decided to suspend the breach of confidentiality. Financial transaction information, however, was leaked earlier.
What did the breach of confidentiality reveal?
According to information received by the CPI, which was published by the Metrópoles portal and confirmed by SheetLulinha generated R$19.5 million in four years. In total, there were R$9.774 million in inflows and R$9.758 million in outflows from Lulinha’s account at Banco do Brasil between January 3, 2022 and January 30 of this year.
Among the amounts received are R$721,000 from his father, President Lula. Of this total, R$384,000 was paid on July 22, 2022. Two other transfers took place on December 27, 2023.
Most of the money that entered Lulinha’s account comes from the income of two companies he owns, LLF Tech Participações and G4 Entretenimento e Tecnologia. There were R$2.3 million in transactions with the first and R$772 thousand with the second.
The owner of the place frequented by Lula, Jonas Suassuna Filho, received R$704,000 in monthly installments of R$10,000.
Lulinha’s defense stated that “the leak [da quebra do seu sigilo] constitutes a serious crime, which is being immediately communicated to all competent authorities.” “We will spare no effort to identify and punish those responsible,” he stated.
What did the STF decide about the breach of confidentiality?
Minister Flávio Dino for the INSS CPI against Roberta Luchsinger. The decision was based on the fact that the commission approved 87 requests at once, in a “global” vote, without presenting individual reasons for each measure.
For Dino, “the wholesale removal of constitutional rights is not appropriate.” The measure suspended the effects of the CPI decision and prevented the sharing of data with other bodies.
Hours after the decision, Lulinha’s defense took advantage of the precedent and asked for the benefit to be extended to the president’s son, with the same arguments. At least five other similar requests were presented by those investigated on the same day.
According to Dino’s injunction, the CPI will be able to re-analyze the requests, as long as it presents concrete reasons and an individual vote for each request. The decision was sent to the STF plenary for a referendum.
What did Lula say about the case?
President Lula has publicly adopted a stance of non-interference. In an interview in December, he stated that “no one will be free” from investigation if they are involved — including his own son. “If my son is involved in this, he will be investigated. If Haddad is involved, he will be investigated, Rui Costa, with this seriousness, will be investigated,” he said.
The president also reported having called Lulinha to Brasília to demand personal explanations. According to reports, the conversation took place in December. Lulinha told her father that she was “100% calm” and mocked rumors about supposed patrimonial developments. Lula recommended that his son defend himself.
Behind the scenes, the president’s aides acknowledge concern about the political impact of the case on the re-election campaign. The shielding of Lula’s family members was considered strategic by government members in the CPI — a strategy that was not sustainable.
