RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The savings generated from special anti-fraud operations more than doubled in 2019. According to a financial report recently disclosed by the Ministry of Economy, the operations resulted in savings of R$961 (US$225) million last year, 107.1 percent more than the R$464 million recorded in 2018.
The balance includes the funds that the government will no longer pay following the dismantling of criminal schemes by the Social Welfare and Labor Task Force. The special inspection includes the Special Secretariat of Social Welfare and Labor of the Ministry of Economy, the Federal Police and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the result was achieved through the improvement of investigation methods, in addition to the coordination between the task force’s agencies. According to the General Coordination of Welfare and Labor Intelligence of the portfolio, last year 45 special operations and 21 striking actions were carried out.
The portfolio further mentions the reinforcement of the coordination’s intelligence structure, which began to promote knowledge of fraud schemes.
The operations resulted in the execution of 551 court orders. Of this total, 415 were search and seizure, 127 arrests and nine dismissals from public office. In addition, 42 people were arrested in the act of committing crimes.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the schemes designed to damage Social Welfare, salary bonuses and unemployment benefits, among other labor rights, resulted in losses of at least R$302 million to public coffers in recent years. To estimate the savings of R$961 million, the portfolio assessed the impact on the government if the criminal schemes had been continued.
Inquiries
The savings generated in each operation also increased last year. In 2019, each special operation resulted, on average, in savings of R$21.3 million, against R$7.6 million recorded in 2018. According to the Ministry of Economy, the result shows the increased efficiency of anti-fraud operations.
The General Coordination of Social Welfare and Labor Intelligence began analyzing 137 new cases of suspected structured fraud in 2019. Another 126 cases were completed and forwarded for investigation by the task force. Based on reports, the Federal Police opened 56 inquiries to investigate criminal schemes against Social Welfare.
Major frauds
Forgery of documents accounted for 84 percent of all investigations. At least 50 percent of them reported the use of forged identity and civil registration documents. According to the Ministry of Economy, the adoption of biometric identification throughout the country is crucial to curbing forgeries.