By Ricardo Brito and Lisandra Paraguassu
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ordered the dismissal of the head of the social security agency, INSS, as he faces investigation for alleged corruption, the government said on Wednesday.
Alessandro Stefanutto was the prime target of a sweeping operation carried out by authorities on Wednesday, with his agency accused of improperly deducting funds from pensioners to the tune of more than $1 billion.
Six officials at the agency were suspended and more than 1 billion reais ($175.86 million) in assets were seized, police and the federal auditors' office said.
Six arrest warrants were also issued across multiple states, they added, though they did not specify who the warrants were for. Stefanutto was not arrested.
Authorities were also carrying out more than 200 search and seizure orders, they said.
Addresses linked to Stefanutto were among those targeted, a source with knowledge of the matter said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information.
The INSS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Investigators had uncovered irregularities involving the deduction of membership fees from social security benefits, primarily pensions and retirement payments overseen by the INSS.
Deductions totaled 6.3 billion reais ($1.10 billion) between 2019 and 2024, according to the statement. Stefanutto took his post in 2023.
Those under investigation could face charges including active and passive corruption, breach of official secrecy, document forgery, criminal conspiracy and money laundering.
($1 = 5.7185 reais)
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Lisandra Paraguassu; Editing by Jan Harvey, Kylie Madry and Maler)
