Brazil’s Social Security Minister, Carlos Lupi, has stepped down amid a major corruption scandal involving the unlawful dedication of $1.1 billion from pensioners’ benefits over the past ten years. This impropriety saw unauthorized deductions from millions of pensioners’ payments, which were allegedly transferred to various associations and unions. These entities are believed to have split the embezzled funds with corrupt government officials. Lupi, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, claimed his name was never mentioned in the ongoing investigations and expressed a hope for the identification and rigorous punishment of those responsible.
The scandal, dubbed Operation No Discount (Sem Desconto in Portuguese), led to the issuance of 211 search warrants by 700 federal agents across Brazil and the seizure of assets worth more than $177 million, including luxury items and significant cash amounts. The fraud targeting the country’s most vulnerable populations, who were unlikely to notice or contest the irregular deductions from their benefits.
In response to the allegations, the head of the National Social Security Institute (INSS) resigned, and six public servants were dismissed from their positions. An investigative task force is now in place to recover misappropriated funds, although the exact extent of the fraud remains to be determined.
Lupi’s resignation marks the second time a member of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s cabinet has stepped down due to corruption allegations within the span of less than a month. In April, Communications Minister Juscelino Filho resigned after being charged with bribery in 2022. Notably, Lula himself served a 1.5-year prison term for corruption in 2018-2019, a conviction later overturned, allowing his candidacy and eventual win in his third term as Brazil’s president.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0jz0wwgz95o
