The scene of a dispute over speeches between the government and Bolsonaro’s supporters, the INSS CPMI faced a series of habeas corpus (HC) that guaranteed the silence of those investigated for fraud against retirees for four months of work, made no progress on the alleged politicians and now promises to focus on bank loans when the commission resumes in February 2026.
Although he lost the position of rapporteur and the presidency of the CPMI, installed in August, after political pressure motivated by the operations of the Federal Police (PF) against the billion dollar undue rebate project revealed by the Metropolisesthe government deployed riot police to protect allies and relatives of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) in the commission.
So far, the strategy has been effective. For example, during the last session of the year, on April 12, government senators and deputies managed to block the summons of businessman Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, the president’s eldest son, and of Jorge Messias, attorney general of the Union appointed by Lula to the Supreme Federal Court (STF).
Lulinha was accused by a former employee of lobbyist Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes, Careca of the INSS, of having received millionaire payments from the main financial operator of pension fraud of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS). The summons of the whistleblower, named Edson Claro, was also canceled.
The CPMI rapporteur, federal deputy Alfredo Gaspar (União-AL), insisted on summoning Edson Claro and said that the employee had been threatened with death by Careca of the INSS. “He (Edson Claro) has already said that he wants to talk and that he has a lot of things to clarify, including on the consignment line. It’s not fair for us to protect someone who has broken with the criminal structure and wants to collaborate,” Gaspar said at the time.
The government base reacted immediately. The deputy and former minister of the Secretariat of Social Communication, Paulo Pimenta (PT-RS), for example declared that Claro’s appeal would be a spectacular staging of the work of the CPMI. “This is not a police station nor a stage for a media spectacle. We are not going to transform the CPMI into a space for personal disputes or videos for the Internet,” he criticized.
Two months earlier, the CPMI had already rejected the testimony of Frei Chico, brother of Lula and vice-president of the National Union of Pensioners, Pensioners and Elderly People (Sindnapi), one of the entities investigated as part of the wave of discounts. On the same day, the PT base managed to put an end to the violation of confidentiality of former minister Carlos Lupi (PDT), dismissed in May, after the first operation of the PF.
Political protection has also spared the CPMI until now Senator Weverton Rocha (PDT), deputy leader of the Lula government and one of the targets of the last phase of Operation Without Remission, launched on 12/18. In recent months, columnist Tácio Lorran, of Metropolisesshowed a series of links between the parliamentarian and his INSS party allies.
Other politicians named in PF investigations, such as federal deputy Euclydes Pettersen (Republicanos-MG) and state deputy Edson Araújo (PSB-MA), have also not had their requests approved. Like Rocha, they deny any participation in the fraud.
The exception was the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), an opponent of Lula, who was summoned during the last session of the year to explain the loans granted by Zema Financeira, his family’s company.
Former ministers interviewed
From the first days of work at the INSS CPMI, it was announced that requests for summons from ministers and former ministers would be transformed into invitations, which could be refused, unlike summons.
The current Minister of Social Security, Wolney Queiroz (PDT), would go to the CPMI on December 1, but postponed his testimony citing a trip on that date. Former ministers Carlos Lupi (PDT), Onyx Lorenzoni (PP) and José Carlos Oliveira (PSD) testified before the CPMI and denied any participation in a fraud that could have embezzled up to 6.3 billion reais from pensions since 2019, under the governments of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and President Lula (PT).
At the CPMI, Oliveira denied evidence put forward by the PF that he was linked to businessmen and associations that were part of the fraudulent scheme. At the time, the president of the commission, Senator Carlos Viana (Podemos-MG), left the session irritated. “Nobody knows anything. Nobody saw anything. Nobody knows anyone. And they only found out after the federal police spoke out,” he joked.
On November 13, Oliveira began to be monitored by an electronic ankle bracelet, as ordered by Minister André Mendonça, rapporteur of the INSS investigation at the STF.
The STF obtained 21 habeas corpus
During the four months of operation of the CPMI, whose deadline is March 28, at least 21 habeas corpus have been granted to the commission’s targets by eight STF ministers: Luiz Fux (8); André Mendonça (4); Flávio Dino (3); Alexandre de Moraes (2); Kassio Nunes Marques (2); Dias Toffoli (1); and Gilmar Mendes (1).
For example, businessman Maurício Camisotti, who is in prison and suspected of being behind three entities of Farra do INSS and of paying bribes to public officials through Careca do INSS, did not appear before the CPMI after André Mendonça’s decision.
Camisotti’s wife, Cecilia Montalvão, also did not go to the CPMI and received a habeas corpus from Flávio Dino. The “Camisotti clan” is suspected of having generated 790 million reais during the fraud period.
Careca, from the INSS itself, designated as central operator of the project, was exempted from attending a meeting of the CPMI with the habeas corpus of Mendonça. Ten days later, already imprisoned in the PF superintendency, he decided to run for Congress and denied any participation in the project.
Some of the people investigated, supported by habeas corpus, presented themselves to the CPMI, but did not answer all the questions.
The CPMI targets banks and social loans
Although it failed to break through the barriers to take on the political core, CPMI returns in 2026 with the goal of focusing on another group full of defenders in Congress: the banks.
The plan is to investigate payday loans. In some cases, say CPMI leaders, banks even charge interest of up to 22% directly deducted from retirees’ payroll.
The CPMI must request the immediate suspension of millions of suspicious salary loan contracts.
During the holidays, CPMI returns in February next year. On this occasion, a preliminary report will be presented, which will serve as an evaluation of the first part of the investigation. The deadline for completion of the work is March, but negotiations are underway to extend this date.
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