Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro admits receiving money from president's son's associate
Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro, known as Marcola, was chief of staff for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from January 2023 until 21 July 2024, when he left the post to join the president’s re‑election campaign. He confirmed that he received payments from businesswoman and lobbyist Roberta Luchsinger, a close friend of Lula’s son Fábio Luís Lula da Silva (Lulinha). Ribeiro said the transfers, reported to be around R$ 80 000, constituted a personal loan that has already been repaid and denied any illegality in the transaction.
Roberta Luchsinger is under Federal Police investigation for alleged influence‑peddling linked to Lulinha. The police have opened multiple inquiries into the son’s alleged trafficking of influence in the Ministry of Health and the state‑run technology firm Dataprev. Luchsinger is also reported to have made more than 40 visits to federal agencies—including the Palácio do Planalto and the Ministry of Development Social—between January 2023 and April 2024, most of them outside the official agenda. Authorities say no contracts or financial benefits for Lulinha have been identified from those meetings.
Entities: Antonio Carlos Camilo Antunes · Fernando Bittar · Fábio Luís Lula da Silva · Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva · Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro · Roberta Luchsinger · Wellington Dias
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 2 SOURCES] The Federal Police opened at least two investigations into Lulinha for alleged influence‑peddling involving Roberta Luchsinger. (multiple articles)
- [● 2 SOURCES] No contracts or financial benefits for Lulinha were identified from Roberta Luchsinger’s meetings with government agencies. (multiple articles)
- [● 5 SOURCES] Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro served as chief of staff for President Lula from January 2023 until 21 July 2024. (multiple articles)
- [● 3 SOURCES] He received payments from Roberta Luchsinger amounting to about 80,000 reais. (multiple articles)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Ribeiro described the payment as a personal loan that has already been repaid and denied any illegality. (multiple articles)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Roberta Luchsinger made more than 40 visits to federal government agencies between January 2023 and April 2024, most of them outside the official agenda. (multiple articles)
- [● 5 SOURCES] Roberta Luchsinger is a friend of Fábio Luís Lula da Silva (Lulinha). (multiple articles)