Court Clears Searches After MPDF Alleges PicPay Took R$81.7 Million From Brasília Civil Servants

Overview

• Prosecutors say PicPay collected R$81.7 million in 'taxa' discounts from Distrito Federal public servants between 2024 and 2025, with sample short-term rates of 2.99%–7.55% that project to an annualized rate as high as 261.31%.
• The TJDFT authorized 'Operação Juro Zero' to allow searches and seizures after the MPDF and the Tribunal de Contas flagged that the 'taxa' behaved like interest despite a 2024 GDF rule barring interest on payroll advances.
• Investigators allege PicPay had improper access to many servers' personal data and used or shared those records for commercial purposes, and the court order seeks to trace how the data were obtained and shared.
• The probe targets possible facilitation by GDF officials and links to BRB entities, including scrutiny of ex‑BRB president Paulo Henrique Costa and arrangements under BRB Serviços that may have let discounts be processed without independent state oversight.
• PicPay denies wrongdoing and says it complied with law while the Secretaria de Economia says it is cooperating; prosecutors have also sought account blocks and are examining consumer protection, administrative and data‑privacy violations that could affect many workers' paychecks.