Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry calls for the arrest of those responsible for fraud at the INSS (Brazilian National Social Security Institute).
Among the targets are Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes, known as "Careca do INSS," and Alessandro Stefanutto, former president of INSS.
247 - The INSS Parliamentary Inquiry Commission approved this Monday (1) the request for preventive detention of those investigated and cited in Operation Sem Desconto, carried out in April by the Federal Police and the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) and which investigates fraud in retirements.
Among the targets are Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes, known as "Careca do INSS," and Alessandro Stefanutto, former president of the INSS (Brazilian National Institute of Social Security). However, the measure depends on judicial approval for the arrests to be carried out.
See the list of people whose pre-trial detention orders have been approved:
- Andre Paulo Felix Fidelis
- Eric Douglas Martins Fidelis
- Cecilia Rodrigues Mota
- Virgilio Antonio Ribeiro de Oliveira Filho l
- Thaisa Hoffmann Jonasson
- Maria Paula Xavier da Fonseca Oliveira
- Alexandre Guimaraes
- Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes, the "Bald Guy from INSS"
- Rubens Oliveira Costa
- Romeu Carvalho Antunes
- Domingos Savio de Castro
- Milton Salvador de Almeida Junior
- Adelinon Rodrigues Junior
- Alessandro Antonio Stefanutto, former president of INSS.
- Geovani Batista Spiecker
- Reinaldo Carlos Barroso de Almeida
- Vanderlei Barbosa dos Santos
- Jucimar Fonseca da Silva
- Philipe Roters Coutinho
- Mauricio Camisotti
- Marcio Alaor de Araújo
In the first three hours of his testimony to the INSS Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry this Monday, lawyer Eli Cohen detailed his investigations into fraud against retirees and pensioners, victims of unauthorized debits from their benefits made by unions and associations, many of them shell companies.
In light of the information, the rapporteur of the Joint Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPMI), Deputy Alfredo Gaspar (União-AL), requested that the commission forward to the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Federal Court (STF) a request for the preventive detention of individuals mentioned by Cohen.
— We have sufficient evidence of authorship, we have proof of the materiality of the crimes. (...) They are the main characters of a criminal organization — said the rapporteur.
The president of the committee, Senator Carlos Viana (Podemos-MG) agreed with the request and demanded the arrest of those involved and the freezing of the assets of the entities involved.
"It's so scandalous that we've practically uncovered the entire scheme and yet no one is even at risk of arrest. (...) It's high time we asked the Justice system to put the main people involved in jail," said Carlos Viana.
During his testimony, Cohen stated that he had discovered that the frauds began in 2005 and, at the request of the president of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPMI), Senator Carlos Viana (Podemos-MG), Cohen cited the names of people who allegedly coordinated the scheme. He detailed the role of each of them in the frauds, headed by businessman Maurício Camisotti and lobbyist Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes, the "bald guy from INSS".
The witness said that, with the information he gathered, he reported the scheme to the São Paulo Civil Police in April 2023 and, two months later, provided the data to the journalists who published the first news about the scandal.
In response to the rapporteur of the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPMI), Cohen listed companies and entities involved, even citing the names of federal deputies who allegedly participated in a party hosted by the Total Health (THG) business group, controlled by Camisotti. He said he has suspicions, but no proof, that the frauds had "political support" in the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches.
"It's a criminal business scheme, everyone knew what they had to do. (...) Their intention was to increase their influence here in Congress and at INSS," said Cohen.
Cohen confirmed that Camisotti controlled the Association of Retired Mutualists for Collective Benefits (Ambec), an organization with over 500 members and collecting approximately R$20 million per month through fraudulent deductions from INSS benefits. He also cited the involvement of the Union of Retirees and Pensioners of Brazil (Unsbras) and the Center for Studies on Retired and Pensioner Benefits (Cebap), all linked to Camisotti. Together, the three associations allegedly moved approximately R$1 billion, defrauding nearly one million retirees and pensioners.
Cohen told the rapporteur that other entities, such as the National Confederation of Rural Workers and Family Farmers (CONTAG) and the Brazilian Confederation of Retirees and Pensioners (COBAP), were complicit in the irregular deductions. He also claimed to have no knowledge of the involvement of former Social Security ministers or former INSS presidents in the fraud.
Cohen told the rapporteur that he had already received several anonymous threats after the discovery of the criminal scheme. The rapporteur then requested that the president of the Joint Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPMI) ask the Federal Police for immediate protection for the witness. Carlos Viana said that the protection for the witness would be confirmed by the CPMI.
Also participating in the testimony are senators Efraim Filho (União-PB), Rogério Marinho (PL-RN), Jorge Seif (PL-SC), Randolfe Rodrigues (PT-AP) and Izalci Lucas (PL-DF), and deputies Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), Rogério Correia (PT-MG), Zé Trovão (PL-SC), Marcel van Halen (Novo-RS) and the vice-president of the CPI, Duarte Jr. (PSB-MA), among others.
At the beginning of the meeting, Carlos Viana announced that the Joint Parliamentary Inquiry Commission (CPMI) should begin meeting three times a week and that information will be requested regarding visits by the bald INSS employee to the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. (With information from Agência Senado)
