São Paulo.- A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has authorized the Federal Police to investigate Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha and the eldest son of current president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, for alleged influence peddling, local media reported this Thursday.
Magistrate André Mendonça granted a police request to clarify Lulinha’s actions in efforts to obtain a marketing authorization for medicinal cannabis in programs linked to the Ministry of Health, according to the newspaper ‘Folha de São Paulo’.
The investigation into Lula’s eldest son comes on the eve of the official start of the campaign for the October presidential elections, in which the progressive leader will seek a fourth non-consecutive term.
According to the latest polls, Lula starts as the favorite for those elections ahead of Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former head of state Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), the latter imprisoned for coup-mongering.
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Lulinha is cited in another case
Authorities suspect that Lulinha interceded on behalf of lobbyist Antônio Carlos Camilo Antunes in negotiations with the Ministry of Health.
The Federal Police have already filed charges against Camilo Antunes, but in another corruption scandal detected at the National Social Security Institute (INSS), following the multi-million dollar embezzlement of benefits from pensioners and retirees.
In that process, which investigates the embezzlement of up to 6.3 billion reais (today 1.24 billion dollars / 1.1 billion euros) at the INSS, Lulinha is mentioned, although he is not listed as being under investigation.
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In that specific case, Lulinha is pointed out for his alleged ties to Camilo Antunes, popularly known as the ‘Careca do INSS’ (Bald man of the INSS).
Lulinha’s lawyer’s response
The authorization given by Mendonça refers to negotiations between the lobbyist and the Ministry of Health.
In this context, the Police believe that Lulinha interceded on behalf of Camilo Antunes and another businesswoman friend of his, Roberta Luchsinger, and exerted his influence in the Ministry of Health and in the Brazilian Presidential cabinet, according to ‘Folha de São Paulo’.
In a note released to the press, the lawyer for Lula’s son, Marco Aurélio de Carvalho, discredited the new investigation, attributing it to the fact that they did not find any irregularities related to the scandal at the National Social Security Institute (INSS).
“Lulinha has already demonstrated that he has no relationship, neither direct nor indirect, with the INSS, nor does he have any relationship with Roberta’s businesses. The Federal Police found nothing at the INSS and are now going to look elsewhere. That is a prospective investigation. That is serious,” the lawyer stated.
