Mendonça authorizes PF to investigate Lulinha on suspicion of influence peddling

As Folha revealed, the PF request made last Friday (24) was distributed this Wednesday (29) to Mendonça. Investigators want to investigate crimes of corruption and influence peddling in attempts to obtain authorization for the sale of medicinal cannabis at the Ministry of Health

The suspicion is that influence peddling for these negotiations was carried out within the Presidency's portfolio and office, according to information from the PF.

Lulinha's defense denied irregularities and suggested there was political interest behind the investigation. Lula stated that his son will not have privileges and will need to prove his innocence.

Lulinha operates in the sector in partnership with businesswoman Roberta Luchsinger, her friend, and lobbyist Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes, known as Careca from INSS. The request to open an investigation also cites contacts between the targets and employees, including those from Lula's office.

According to investigators, one of the lines is that Lulinha would have worked with Roberta in the cannabidiol market on behalf of the company World Cannabis, linked to Careca do INSS.

Lulinha's defense stated that they will not comment specifically on an investigation of which they had no knowledge, but said it was necessary to understand the justification for the STF's jurisdiction in the case.

He also added that a new investigation outside of Operação Sem Desconto "would demonstrate that they failed to find what they were unjustifiably looking for, which is some connection between Fábio Luís and the INSS frauds", and that "Fábio never had any relationship with this scandal".

Criminal lawyer Guilherme Suguimori Santos, who works in Lulinha's defense, raised suspicions about the legality and political interest. "If they wanted to find something and didn't find it, they can't create a new theory to start all over again, stretching this story until the elections," he said. "Investigation is not an exercise in trial and error. This constitutes what we call evidentiary fishing, which is illegal and would expose the political interest behind this peculiar movement."

In an interview with the Intelligence Ltda podcast, Lula said he saw "barbarity spoken" against his son and that he "swears to me every day" that he is innocent, but will not have any privileges.

"If my son is accused of anything, he will be treated like anyone else's son, like me, he will be treated. There will be no privileges. I will never ask a delegate, a judge, not to do the right things," he said.

"If he's right, he'll get help from me, if he does something wrong, he knows what I went through. They won't use my position to protect [Lulinha]. He'll have to prove that he's innocent like I did, he'll have to prove it. And if he's guilty, he'll have to pay what everyone pays when they make a mistake", added Lula.

Roberta's defense stated that they did not have any type of information about the opening of a new police investigation and that the facts reported in the investigation into INSS transfers and possible misuse of public funds were already the subject of ongoing investigations.

He also stated that there would be no reason to open a new police investigation and that "it does not make any sense to reopen an investigation involving the son of the President of the Republic, which had already been completed, on the eve of the start of an electoral process, except to be able to explore this politically".

Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes' defense stated that he was not aware of the request and did not comment. The Ministry of Health stated that it does not and has never had a contract with World Cannabis or the aforementioned shareholders.

"In this way, no public resources were ever transferred to them", he said. In recent months, those mentioned have been denying irregularities in their activities in the medical cannabis sector.

Lulinha's lawyers previously stated that the president's son did not participate in negotiations, did not invest work or values "nor did he receive an invitation to associate, participate or purchase shares" in the World Cannabis commercial project.

In March, Lulinha's defense admitted that he had expenses paid by Careca from INSS on a trip to Portugal in 2024.

Roberta Luchsinger said that she provided consultancy for Careca from the INSS in the area of cannabidiol and that she introduced the lobbyist to Lulinha in a "social context". He also said that his contract did not provide for the sale of any substance.

One of the objectives of the businessmen's actions was to secure a contract with the Ministry of Health for the purchase of cannabis-based medicines, but the deal was not closed.

Careca from the INSS has been in prison since September 2025. In a statement to the INSS CPI last year, he said he is a businessman whose prosperity is "the result of honest and dedicated work" and that he does not have "assets arising from theft or any illicit practice".

The document sent by the PF to the Supreme Court states that payments from the lobbyist to RL Consultoria, owned by Roberta Luchsinger, had been identified. The investigation will try to clarify whether there were transfers to public agents.

The investigators are asking the court to authorize the sharing of evidence collected in Operation Sem Desconto, which targets a gang responsible for embezzlement in the INSS and which has Careca as one of the targets.

The investigation request was sent to the STF last Friday, during the Judiciary recess. The case was sent to the presidency of the Supreme Court due to the assessment that the facts were not related to Operation Without Discount, which involves fraud at the INSS and which is being reported by Mendonça.

The case was analyzed by Alexandre de Moraes, who replaced Edson Fachin as president of the court on duty and who requested an opinion from the PGR (Attorney General's Office).

The body stated that the breaches of confidentiality presented by the