Billion-Dollar INSS Frauds Has Direct Connection to PT and Lula’s Brother, Frei Chico

Bombshell! Lawyer Linked to Billion-Dollar INSS Frauds Has Direct Connection to PT and Lula’s Brother, Frei Chico

Cecília Mota, former AAPEN president, is under investigation for embezzling millions, and her ties with Frei Chico expose the scheme’s full reach

The billion-dollar INSS fraud scandal has reached a new explosive chapter: lawyer Cecília Rodrigues Mota, former president of AAPEN, is at the center of a Federal Police investigation that has already identified direct connections between her and Frei Chico, President Lula’s brother and vice-president of Sindnapi, a union investigated for embezzling millions from retirees and pensioners.

According to the Federal Police, Cecília Mota moved R$14 million in less than a year, headed front organizations, and made 33 trips—many of them international—with companions suspected of carrying bags full of cash. Sindnapi, led by Frei Chico, is under search and seizure orders, with evidence of illegal deductions from benefits and a staggering revenue jump: from R$23 million in 2020 to over R$150 million in 2024.

Investigations indicate the scheme involved million-dollar transfers, money laundering, and the participation of public officials and politicians linked to PT. The direct involvement of Lula’s brother exposes how deeply corruption is rooted in the power structures. The Cecília Mota and Frei Chico case shows the INSS deficit is not just financial, but also political—and Brazil demands urgent answers.