The Federal Police (PF) and the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) launched a new offensive this Wednesday against the scheme of undue discounts applied to retirement and pension benefits paid by the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), reports the portal. g1The new phase of Operation No Discount seeks to deepen investigations into suspected billion-dollar frauds involving associative entities and possible crimes against Social Security beneficiaries.
By order of Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça, federal agents are executing 31 search and seizure warrants, as well as eight precautionary measures involving electronic monitoring, in the states of Pernambuco, São Paulo, Paraíba, and the Federal District.
According to the Federal Police, Wednesday's operation aims to gather new evidence about crimes against public administration, social security fraud, and practices of concealment and dissipation of assets allegedly linked to the scheme.
The investigations target organizations suspected of applying unauthorized charges directly to the benefits of retirees and pensioners of the INSS (Brazilian National Social Security Institute), often without the victims' knowledge. In Brasília, the associations UNIBAP and ABENPREV are among the targets. In São Paulo, nine warrants are being served. Among the targets are four associations: ANDAPP, Amar, Master Prev, and AASP.
The scheme allegedly moved R$ 6,3 billion.
The first phase of Operation No Discount was carried out in April 2025 and revealed a scheme considered one of the largest ever identified involving irregular discounts on social security benefits.
At the time, the Federal Police and the Comptroller General's Office (CGU) indicated that unions and associations of retirees were making monthly charges without the beneficiaries' authorization. The estimated losses from the investigations amount to approximately R$ 6,3 billion.
The entities under investigation claimed to offer services such as health plans, legal assistance, partnerships, gyms, and other benefits to retirees. However, audits conducted by the CGU (Brazilian Federal Comptroller General) indicated that many of these organizations lacked the minimum structure to provide the promised services.
According to investigators, in several cases the retirees were unaware that they had been linked to the associations. Many only discovered the existence of the deductions after consulting their INSS (Brazilian Social Security Institute) payment statements.
The scheme caused a strong national repercussion and directly affected the top management of the institute.
INSS leadership was removed.
During the first phase of the investigation, INSS officials were removed from their positions due to suspected involvement or negligence in the face of irregularities..
Suspicions are focused on the possible facilitation of mass membership discounts without adequate control mechanisms or confirmation of beneficiary authorization.
The progress of the investigations has increased pressure on the federal government to review the systems for authorizing deductions from social security benefits and to expand mechanisms for protecting retirees.
The CGU (Brazilian Federal Comptroller General) has identified evidence of serious flaws in the oversight of agreements signed between the INSS (Brazilian National Social Security Institute) and associations authorized to operate payroll deductions.
Investigators are looking into money laundering.
The new phase of the operation also focuses efforts on analyzing the asset transactions of those under investigation.
According to the Federal Police, there are suspicions of asset concealment and attempts at financial depletion by individuals linked to the scheme.
Therefore, in addition to the searches and seizures, the court authorized precautionary measures of electronic monitoring against individuals under investigation who are considered strategic to the progress of the investigation.
The agents are searching for documents, electronic equipment, bank records, and other materials that may clarify the origin and destination of the embezzled funds.
The investigators hope to identify how the money obtained through the improper discounts was distributed and whether there was involvement of intermediaries, financial operators, or shell companies.
Retirees report unknown charges.
Investigations have revealed reports from retirees who identified recurring monthly deductions despite never having authorized membership in unions or associations.
In many cases, the amounts charged were relatively low individually, making it difficult to immediately detect irregularities. However, when added up on a national scale, the discounts would have generated figures in the billions.
The CGU points out that the model allowed for the silent multiplication of charges, reaching thousands of beneficiaries in different states of the country.
Leave a comment