INSS CPMI: Government Blinda and Frei Chico, Lula’s brother, is left out of calls

The Mixed Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry (CPMI) of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) approved on Tuesday, 26, the invitation of all former social security ministers, ten former presidents of the INSS and directors of associations who made discounts on benefits of retirees mentioned in the investigations.

The government celebrated the agreement to shield Frei Chico, who is leader of the National Union of Retirees, Pensioners and Elderly (Sindnapi) and brother of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Government and opposition also agreed not to invite Paulo Guedes. Between 2019 and 2021, the Ministry of Social Security was extinguished and its attributions were moved to a special secretary linked to the Ministry of Economy, headed by the government of Jair Bolsonaro.

Due to this interpretation, two other farm ministers (Henrique Meirelles and Eduardo Guardia) during Michel Temer’s government were also spared.

During the Temer management, the ministry was extinguished and its attributions were in charge of the Social Security Secretariat, linked to the Ministry of Finance.

Thus, the former ministers were invited:

• Carlos Gabas, Minister in 2015;
• Miguel Rossetto, minister between 2015 and 2016;
• Onyx Lorenzoni, minister between 2021 and 2022;
• José Carlos Oliveira, minister between 2022 and 2023;
• Carlos Lupi, minister between 2023 and 2025; and
• Wolney Queiroz, current Minister of Social Security.

The requirements for the ministers were transformed into an invitation, which clears them to attend the board. Now, the plan is to establish a date to hold the hearings – if missing, the call will be based, which makes the presence mandatory.

Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes, the “Bald of the INSS”, Domingos Sávio de Castro and Maurício Camisotti, considered by the rapporteur, Deputy Alfredo Gaspar (União-AL), as “prominent” paper pieces to operationalize the fraud, were also called.

Gaspar intends to hear people linked to the INSS until the last management of the petista. See the list of requirements for the summons of ten former INSS presidents.

• Lindolfo Neto de Oliveira Sales, president between 2012 and 2015;
• Elisete Berchiol da Silva Iwai, president between 2015 and 2016;
• Leonardo de Melo Gadelha, president between 2016 and 2017;
• Francisco Paulo Soares Lopes, president between 2017 and 2018;
• Edison Antônio Costa Britto Garcia, president between 2018 and 2019
• Renato Rodrigues Vieira, President between 2019 and 2020;
• Leonardo José Rolim Guimarães, president between 2020 and 2021;
• Guilherme Gastaldello Pinheiro Serrano, president between 2022 and 2023;
• Glauco André Fonseca Wamburg, interim president in 2023; and
• Alessandro Stefanutto, president between 2023 and 2025, when he came to the public information about discounts.

The calls from:

• Eliane Viegas Mota, Director of Pension Audit and Benefits of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU)
• Bruno Oliveira Pereira Bergamaschi, Federal Police Delegate
• Patrícia Bettin Chaves, coordinator of the Chamber of Coordination and Social Security Review of the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU)
• Eli Cohen, lawyer.

CPMI also guided information requirements. CPMI wants to know about CGU information about the internal system and requisition of three credentials with broad access, audit documents on improper discounts in the INSS. In addition, he ordered two servers for investigative technical support.

There are also requests from the Federal Police to have access to the case of police inquiries on fraudulent discounts in the INSS and a technical support request for three servers.

The Board also asked the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) access (with any breach of confidentiality) to the inquiries dealing with improper discounts, the Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU) information involved in this episode, the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) documents and information, to the INSS, the Ministry of the National Council and the National Council Social Security Access to administrative and disciplinary processes since 2015 on fraud.

The board also approved request for support for the investigation of the TCU, the Public Prosecution Service with the TCU, the Central Bank, the Federal Revenue and the Federal Prosecutor.