The president of Conafer (National Confederation of Family Farmers and Rural Household Entrepreneurs), Carlos Roberto Ferreira López, is considered a fugitive by the Federal Police, identified as the leader and creator of the fraud scheme of the entity of the INSS (National Institute of Social Security).
He had been granted preventive detention by order of Minister André Mendonça, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), on the 11th, and the National Front tried to comply with the decision on Thursday (13), after the launch of the new phase of the non-discount process.
When contacted, the CONAF advisor said he had not had any contact with Lopez since Thursday morning. Conafer was the second entity with the highest number of pension deductions, R$484 million, between 2019 and 2024, according to a survey by the CGU (Controller General of the Union).
In an exclusive interview with Bound On October 15, Lopez denied that there was a risk that he would flee if the special forces announced his arrest.
“If I go there (at the INSS CPI) without a subpoena, asking to testify, how do you judge that this man wants to escape? A man who works from Monday to Friday? There is no reason for me to flee. If the special forces see fit to restrict my freedom, I will come forward. My entity is functioning and does not pose any danger to society,” he said at the time.
In the interview, he also accused the committee board of being selective by not calling “front institutions” to testify and that it was just a piranha, a smokescreen.
“They beat adults to hide those who do not exist,” he declared, adding that there is “a political agenda to destroy and privatize social security.”
According to the PF report, Lopez controlled financial transfers and decided on the distribution of resources transferred from INSS, in addition to being responsible for directing the group’s fraud and political expression.
According to the police, he was also ordered to obtain signatures of beneficiaries through home visits in which contractors were instructed to urge senior citizens to sign data update forms, which were then converted into fake association membership forms.
“A reading of the representation of the Federal Police allows the conclusion that he (Lopez) will act as a center of gravity for the organization, having decision-making power over the other cores and being responsible for maintaining the chain of illicit payments,” Mendonça said in his decision.
According to the document, Lopez’s financial operator is businessman Cicero Marcelino de Souza Santos, who was arrested during the operation. He would have transferred the bribes, through companies, to public agents, such as former INSS president Alessandro Stefanotto, who would have received R$250,000 a month from the entity. His defense denies these accusations.
The entity’s president was arrested red-handed at the end of last September, after giving a statement to the Communist Party, on charges of perjury.
At the time, the committee’s rapporteur, Rep. Alfredo Gaspar (Uniao-AL), stated that he would ask the special force to order his preventive detention, on the grounds of flight risk, threat to witnesses, and disappearance of property.
Conaver’s press office said, in a statement issued Thursday, that it viewed the operation with great concern, and that all those named in it have the procedural and moral right to guarantee their defense and preserve their honor until a judicial decision is issued to convict them once and for all.
He also expressed his confidence in the institutions and is ready to fully cooperate with the competent authorities to clarify the facts and “until the legal truth prevails.”
He added: “But we demand that the investigation be conducted on an equal and transparent basis, and without attracting attention that might harm the right to defense and the exercise of basic social activities.” He added that he will continue to follow developments in the case and will take all applicable legal measures to ensure the defense of its directors and protect the continuity of services.
During the new phase of the de-discount operation, agents found R$720,000 in cash, as well as $72,000 USD (about R$381,200). Also found were 23 luxury watches, 106 pieces of jewelry, 43 vehicles, and 57 mobile phones. The targets of the operation still had eight weapons and 314 ammunition. According to Palestinian police, agents collected five computers and 21 laptops, among other devices.
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