Rio Prosecutors Seek to Oust Rioprevidência Chief and Freeze R$1.088 Billion Over Alleged Improper Investments

Overview

• Rio state prosecutors, who filed the case Friday, asked the 2nd Public Treasury Court to remove interim president Nicholas Cardoso, install oversight, and freeze R$1.088 billion in assets including those of fund leaders, Banco Master, and Credcesta operator PKL One.
• The petition ties most of the exposure to R$970 million placed in Banco Master under ex-president Deivis Antunes, a bank the Central Bank liquidated in late 2025 for signs of fraudulent management.
• It also accuses Cardoso of authorizing R$118 million in late-December 2025 into funds run by managers not credentialed by the institute, a lapse the Fiscal Council flagged as a breach of internal controls.
• Prosecutors urged the court to reject using Credcesta payroll deductions to repay the fund and asked to suspend those contracts, arguing the product bundles a credit card with a payroll loan in a way that can trap retirees in rolling debt.
• Rioprevidência said the questioned allocations used administrative fee money kept separate from pension assets, were fixed-income, and were later redeemed to cover costs, and the court will now decide on intervention and freezes affecting roughly 235,000 beneficiaries.