Police are investigating possible links between Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, son of President Lula, and an INSS fraud scheme that diverted R$ 6.3 billion between 2019 and 2024. Operation Sem Desconto points to an alleged hidden partnership with lobbyist Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes, the Careca do INSS. Lulinha's bank secrecy was broken, revealing R$ 19.5 million in movements over four years.
Operation Sem Desconto, conducted by the Federal Police in partnership with the CGU, is probing an INSS fraud scheme involving unauthorized associative discounts on retirements and pensions by shell entities promising services like medical plans or funeral aid. The scheme allegedly diverted about R$ 6.3 billion from beneficiaries between 2019 and 2024. The discount model has been legal since 1991 but grew disproportionately from 2019 and worsened in 2022 when Congress removed the periodic revalidation requirement for authorizations.
Former INSS president Alessandro Stefanutto was preventively arrested in November 2024 for keeping group-linked servers in strategic positions despite internal complaints. He denies direct involvement. Investigations reached Lulinha through lobbyist Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes, known as Careca do INSS, arrested in September 2024 and identified as a central operator of the scheme.
A witness, Edson Claro, former employee of Antunes, told the PF that Lulinha received a R$ 300,000 monthly allowance from the lobbyist, plus 25 million—currency unspecified—and traveled with him to Portugal. Seized messages show Antunes transferring R$ 300,000 to a company owned by Roberta Luchsinger, a businesswoman close to Lulinha, referring to the recipient as "the son of the guy." Luchsinger received R$ 1.5 million in installments from a shell company linked to Antunes. Her defense states the amounts stem from an initial cannabidiol project, unrelated to INSS and prior to the fraud revelations.
Lulinha's banking, fiscal, and telematic secrecy was broken by order of STF Justice André Mendonça at the PF's request, prompted by mentions in the investigations. The joint INSS CPI also approved the measure, but Justice Flávio Dino suspended the break for lack of individualized justification in the vote. Before the leak, data showed Lulinha moved R$ 19.5 million in a Banco do Brasil account from January 2022 to January 2026, with R$ 9.774 million in inflows and R$ 9.758 million in outflows. Of these, R$ 721,000 came from transfers by President Lula, and most inflows from earnings of his companies LLF Tech Participações and G4 Entretenimento e Tecnologia.
Lulinha's defense called the leak a serious crime. President Lula stated no one will escape investigation, including his son, and reported personally demanding explanations from Lulinha, who said he is "100% calm."
