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Conafer President to Surrender After STF Orders Preventive Arrest in INSS Fraud Probe

The order was signed by STF minister André Mendonça following a Federal Police operation into alleged pension diversions involving bribe payments.

Overview

  • Conafer says president Carlos Lopes is returning from a remote area to present himself to the Federal Police in compliance with the preventive arrest order, while the group denies the accusations.
  • He was not found during last week’s Operação Sem Desconto, and authorities had treated him as a fugitive.
  • PF and CGU report irregular deductions from INSS retirees’ and pensioners’ benefits between 2019 and 2024, with potential losses of up to R$ 6.3 billion.
  • According to the PF, R$ 708.2 million was transferred by the INSS to Conafer, with R$ 640 million routed to shell companies and operators tied to the group.
  • Investigators cite periodic bribe payments involving Conafer operatives, INSS officials and politicians, and the STF issued 10 arrest orders that included the detention of ex-INSS president Alessandro Stefanutto and former prosecutor Virgílio Antônio Ribeiro de Oliveira Filho.