Summoned to testify as a witness to the criminal scheme that embezzled billions of reais from retirees and pensioners from the National Social Security Institute (INSS), businessman Paulo Camisotti remained silent when testifying to the INSS Joint Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPMI), this Thursday (26).
Appointed as the director of more than 20 companies investigated within the scope of Operation Sem Desconto, the 33-year-old businessman is the son and partner of fellow businessman Maurício Camisotti, imprisoned since September 2025, accused of involvement in the fraud that harmed millions of INSS policyholders across the country.
Supported by habeas corpus and guided by his lawyer, Paulo Camisotti used his constitutional right not to answer questions that could incriminate him. The first to question him was the committee’s rapporteur, deputy Alfredo Gaspar (União-AL), to whom the businessman limited himself to confirming only that he was president of the Brazilian Association of Health and Benefits Card Companies (ABCS) and son of Maurício Camisotti, failing to even answer whether he had already been convicted in any legal process.
When interrogating Paulo Camisotti, the commission’s rapporteur pointed out that the Camisotti family’s companies generated more than R$800 million, of which “more than R$350 million went directly to them”, with Paulo’s father, Maurício Camisotti, the major beneficiary of the scheme.
“This family is five times stronger than Careca from the INSS,” stated Alfredo Gaspar, referring to Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes, a lobbyist identified as one of the main operators of the fraud against the INSS.
“They named Careca from the INSS [em evidência] and we keep repeating him, because, in fact, he is a great operator of the scheme, but remember this name: Camisoti. He [Paulo] and the father [Maurício] they set up a structured network of fictitious services that extracted money from the associations they dominated. Money that came out of the pockets of retirees and pensioners”, denounced the rapporteur, ensuring that the Association of Mutualist Retirees for Collective Benefits (Ambec) alone received almost R$500 million in associative discounts, for services not provided.
“Ambec withdrew R$500 million from retirees and pensioners. And its first president was Ademir Fratic Bacic, cousin of Paulo Camisotti, nephew of Maurício Camisoti. José Hermicesar Brilhante, also president [da Ambec]worked in companies chaired by Paulo Camisoti. Luciene de Camargo Bernardo, was his father’s cousin. Antonio Fratic Bacic, Paulo’s uncle. So, Ambec’s board of directors was entirely made up of [pessoas com] family ties, blood, or company employees [da família Camisotti]”, added Gaspar, remembering that Antunes, the INSS’s Bald Man, was Ambec’s attorney.
“You, your father and the rest of the gang took millions of reais from the Brazilian people,” accused Gaspar, addressing Paulo Camisotti directly.
The businessman’s defense did not comment on the content of the accusations during the public hearing.
