INSS CPI: president of association denies that entity is considered “ghost”

The president of the Brazilian Confederation of Fisheries and Aquaculture Workers (CBPA), Abraão Lincoln Ferreira da Cruz, denied that the entity is a ghost during his testimony today (3) at the Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPMI) of the National Social Security Institute (INSS). The entity appears as one of those investigated by the Federal Police within the scope of Operation Without Discount, launched in April this year to investigate irregular discounts on INSS benefits between 2019 and 2024.

When beginning his testimony, Abraão Lincoln told parliamentarians that the CBPA initially emerged with 12 federations and currently has 21 federations, with just over 1000 colonies and fishermen’s unions.

“We exist. In the majority of all Brazilian states there is artisanal fishing, we are here to say that our institutions exist. You can see it in your states, because many of you can see our colonies and our unions. We are headquartered in 95% of the municipalities where we have confederates. The CBPA, like any other confederation, does not have workers directly affiliated with it”, he stated.

A report by the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) states that the CBPA headquarters operates in a “small commercial room”, with only “one secretary for service”, and that the confederation “does not have the infrastructure for location, recruitment, registration and much less provision of services” compatible with its universe of 360,632 members, spread across more than 3,600 municipalities.

“We provide a service with great honor to Brazilian fishermen. We provide this service with entities that are secular, especially because we are one of the oldest categories in this country”, he concluded.

Abraão Lincoln’s summons request points out that the Confederation was responsible for deviations estimated at R$221.8 million taken from the benefits of retirees and pensioners. Due to the investigations, the Federal Court of the Federal District ordered the freezing of the assets of Abraão Lincoln Ferreira da Cruz and CBPA.

A habeas corpus by Federal Supreme Court (STF) minister Alexandre de Moraes granted the witness the right to remain silent in the facts in which he may incriminate himself, but he is obliged to respond regarding the facts and events related to the CPMI’s object in which this does not occur.

As a result, Abraão Lincoln did not respond to the questions asked by the Commission’s rapporteur, Alfredo Gaspar (União-AL). Abraão’s technical defense justified his silence with the argument that he is being investigated and that, given these circumstances, he instructed “the deponent not to answer the questions and not to sign a commitment agreement” from CPMI.

“I will leave it up to the deponent to respond or not and, at the end of the testimony, I will choose exactly the reasons for the request for arrest in the act for false testimony and for keeping silent about the truth. So, for me, it does not change the effect and I will in no way question why he remains silent on questions that do not incriminate him, this for me may even help at the end of the work”, replied Gaspar.

Faced with the impasse, the president of CPMI, Carlos Viana (Podemos-MG) temporarily suspended the work, in order to reach an agreement with Abraão Lincoln’s lawyers.