Ex-Minister Ahmed Mohamad Oliveira Tied to INSS Fraud as Federal Police Expand Raids

Overview

• Federal Police carried out new search-and-seizure actions on November 13–14, detained multiple suspects linked to INSS and Conafer, and imposed electronic monitoring on Oliveira after a court order.
• Investigators describe Oliveira as a key institutional actor who, as INSS benefits director and later minister, authorized releases including R$15.3 million to Conafer that they say helped restart and expand the scheme to more than 650,000 benefits.
• A seized February 2023 spreadsheet records a R$100,000 payment to a contact labeled “São Paulo Yasser,” which investigators say referred to Oliveira, alongside messages and orders that suggest systematic payoffs.
• The probe estimates more than R$640 million was diverted through Conafer between 2017 and 2023, with overall losses across entities possibly reaching R$6.3 billion from 2019 to 2024.
• The government extended to February 14, 2026 the deadline for beneficiaries to contest improper deductions, reports repayments to about 3.7 million people totaling R$2.5 billion, and notes that the accused deny wrongdoing.