Conafer president surrenders to Federal Police over INSS fraud scheme

Carlos Roberto Ferreira Lopes, president of the National Confederation of Family Farmers (Conafer), has surrendered to the Federal Police in Brasília after being a fugitive since November 2025. Lopes was the subject of a preventive arrest warrant issued by Supreme Court Minister André Mendonça.

Lopes is a central figure in ‘Operação Sem Desconto’, an investigation into a scheme involving unauthorized associative deductions from INSS pensions and retirements. Authorities suspect the scheme resulted in billions of reais being diverted. The investigation alleges that Conafer used fraudulent affiliations to facilitate these deductions.

According to the Federal Police, Lopes allegedly controlled financial transfers, directed the distribution of diverted funds, and managed political articulation. The scheme reportedly involved visiting elderly beneficiaries under the guise of updating registration data to obtain signatures, which were then converted into fraudulent membership forms. Conafer has stated that Lopes’s surrender does not constitute an admission of guilt and that the defense intends to present evidence to clarify the facts.