Operation targets DF's server discount sheet scheme and has BRB, PicPay and former executives among the targets

On Friday, authorities launched an operation targeting several entities linked to alleged irregularities involving salary deductions for public servants in the Federal District (DF). The investigation, led by the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Federal District and Territories, focuses on potential violations related to salary and pension payments for government employees. This operation involves searches and seizures being carried out in the Federal District, Curitiba, and São Paulo, against the Bank of Brasília (BRB), the DF Economy Secretariat, the digital bank PicPay, and the Institute of Social Security of the Federal District (IPREV).

The operation is coordinated by the Deputy Attorney General’s Office and the Consumer Protection Prosecution (Prodecon) within the Public Prosecutor’s Office, alongside the Special Group for Combatting Organized Crime (Gaeco). These groups have been conducting the investigation into suspected misconduct involving salary advances offered to active and retired government workers, which are managed by the BRB.

In February, the Federal District Audit Court found indications that a "salary advance fee" charged by PicPay might violate the requirement for free operations of this type. According to the court's decision, this "advance fee" has economic characteristics of credit costs, suggesting apparent non-compliance with regulations. During the same hearing, the audit court identified issues with the oversight conducted by the Government of the Federal District and ordered the suspension of such deductions until the advance was reclassified as optional withholding—subjecting these deductions to a permissible margin.

PicPay issued a statement denying any irregularity in the mentioned operations and rejecting allegations of unfair charges. It emphasized its robust corporate governance structure, risk management, and compliance mechanisms aligned with best market practices and regulatory standards. The company stated that the advanced amount was directly available to customers via their cards upon request through the app, without intermediaries or associations, and without such charges in this modality.

The operation targets a scheme involving unauthorized deductions from the payroll of public servants in the Federal District. Among the investigated parties are the former Secretary of Economics of the DF, Ney Ferraz, the former president of BRB, Paulo Henrique Costa—who is already under arrest in another investigation—and Eduardo Chedid Simões, a director of PicPay who was previously indicted by the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission on the National Social Security Institute (CPMI-INSS).

According to the investigations, the group allegedly used a decree enacted in 2024 to facilitate direct deductions from the paychecks of public servants. Financial obligations were presented as "fees," while amounts related to salary advances began to be deducted from the payroll. The Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating possible crimes against the popular economy, deceptive advertising in consumer relations, data insertion and modification in public administration systems, active and passive corruption, organized crime, and money laundering.

This investigation follows the identification of irregularities by the Federal District Audit Court regarding the salary advance service offered to GDF employees. According to control bodies, there was a significant increase in deductions associated with this service, leading to the suspension of new operations of this kind and giving rise to the investigations that resulted in Operation Juros Zero. The operation also includes the blocking of nearly R$90 million in accounts belonging to PicPay and the Association of Public Employees of the Federal District, as authorized by the courts. No arrests have been made so far in this phase of the investigation.