PF investigates transfers from lobbyist to government Lula members

The Federal Police (PF) identified payments made by the businesswoman and lobbyist Roberta Luchsinger to members of the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance (MDS), commanded by Minister Wellington Dias, in the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). Messages analyzed by the investigators also mention cash stored in suitcases, including a reference to R $ 500,000.

The information was released on Wednesday (23) by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo and repercussions of the portal ND Mais. The PF investigates whether the financial transfers are related to the performance of the entrepreneur in negotiations involving federal government bodies and possible favoritism in public contracts.

Messages reveal payments to government servers

According to the investigation, conversations between Roberta Luchsinger and his driver and personal assistant, Ulisses Barbosa, indicate payments destined to Ranniêr Costa Ciríaco, deputy executive secretary of the Ministry of Social Development, and José Martinho Ferreira de Araújo, coordinator of the ceremonial of the minister Wellington Dias.

A third bank account mentioned in the conversations would belong to the mother of the daughter of José Martinho. According to the information disclosed, Roberta would have directed Ulysses to distribute R $ 60,000, which were kept in kind in his residence, between three bank accounts.

In one of the messages, the driver showed concern about the movement of resources and the questions that could be made by the financial institution. The businesswoman replied that the money would be sent to different accounts.

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The payments would have been made on June 2, 2023. The Federal Police also identified evidence of deposits related to the conversations recovered from the businesswoman's cell phone.

Bag with $500,000 appears in the investigations

Another point that caught the attention of the investigators was the existence of messages mentioning large amounts of cash stored in the residence of Roberta Luchsinger. In a conversation in March 2023, Ulisses Barbosa informed the businesswoman that he had taken a suitcase containing approximately R$ 500,000.

According to the report, the researchers also analyze messages related to other payments made from the amounts that would be saved in kind. Among the movements investigated is a possible delivery of R$ 193,000 to the businessman Fernando Bittar, who was once one of the owners of the Atibaia site, in São Paulo, investigated during the Operação Lava Jato.

Bittar’s defense claimed that he does not know the values mentioned and does not recognize being the recipient of the resources cited in the conversations.

Federal Police Investigates Possible Link to Public Procurement

The Federal Police also analyzes the performance of Roberta Luchsinger in negotiations involving private companies and federal government bodies. According to the information released by Estadão, the Ministry of Social Development signed, in December 2023, a contract of R$ 31.2 million with the company 3Structure, linked to the entrepreneur Cléber Ribas, who was represented by the lobbyist.

The hiring took place approximately six months after the payments identified in the messages. In November 2025, there was a contractual additive of R$ 2.7 million. In April 2026, a new contract of R$ 19.2 million was concluded with the company.

3Structure denied irregularities and said its contracts with the federal government followed the legal rules of public procurement, going through technical analyses and audits. The Federal Police investigates whether there is any relationship between the payments identified and the business intermediaries by the entrepreneur. The existence of deposits and contracts alone does not prove the practice of irregularities.

Defense of Roberta Luchsinger questions disclosure of messages

Roberta Luchsinger is also being investigated in investigations involving Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, the son of President Lula. The investigations deal with suspicions of corruption and influence trafficking in businesses related to the federal government. The defense of the businesswoman claimed to be unaware of the disclosed conversations and questioned the leak of information of an investigation that deals under secrecy.

The lawyer Roberto Podval stated that the defense regrets the disclosure of the data and considers that the leaks have political-electoral motivation. The defense of Fábio Luís Lula da Silva stated that he has no relation with the payments mentioned in the reports.

The Ministry of Social Development was sought by the press, but had not presented a statement on the transfers until the publication of the information. The investigations continue to clarify the origin and purpose of the values moved and verify if there was any irregularity in the relations between the businesswoman, public servants and companies with contracts in the federal government.