Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), determined the blocking of amounts linked to the National Union of Retirees and Pensioners of Força Sindical (Sindnapi) totaling R$389 million. 
THE The figure is equivalent to everything the union received in discounts made on INSS pensions between 2021 and January 2025. In addition to Sindnapi, the measure affects the personal assets of the entity’s president, Milton Baptista de Souza Filho, known as Milton Cavalo.
The estate of João Batista Inocentini, former president of the union, who died in 2023, and three other directors were also affected.
The decision is part of the most recent phase of the Operation Without Discountwhich investigates INSS fraud and was triggered last week by the Federal Police (PF). At the time, assets such as jewelry, watches, cash and luxury cars were seized, including a Ferrari, Porsche and even a Formula 1 car. In total, 66 search and seizure warrants were executed in seven states.
In addition to the blockades, Mendonça authorized breaches of banking and fiscal secrecy by the union and some of its leaders. The minister justified the measures, among other reasons, due to the seriousness of the crimes investigated and the “risk of interference in the production of evidence and the maneuvers of asset dilapidation and money laundering”.
The objective, according to the decision, is the “financial strangulation of the criminal structure”, in addition to the “need to ensure the recovery and future reimbursement of the values subject to the crimes”, wrote Mendonça.
“In fact, the records show that there are well-founded suspicions of relevant participation of those represented in the illicit acts discovered in the aforementioned operation and in an organized criminal group to harm retirees and pensioners through undue discounts on social security benefits with the INSS, with subsequent use of measures to conceal and launder the large illicit resources obtained, notably around entities such as SINDNAPI”, said the minister.
The measures were determined with the approval of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), which pointed to suspicious financial transactions involving those being investigated. THE PF identified, for example, the transfer of R$ 1.1 million from Sindnapi to a construction company that would later have transferred part of the money to another contractor, which does not have any employees.
In a statement, Sindnapi said that it “reiterates its absolute repudiation and indignation with any allegations that crimes were committed in its administration or that undue discounts were made to its members”.
In Congress, the government base has accused the opposition of trying to exploit the case to target President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, because his older brother, José Ferreira da Silva, known as Frei Chico, is vice-president of Sindnapi. The union leader, however, was not the target of any legal action nor is he included as an investigator in the investigation.
