Brazil’s Top Prosecutor Seeks to Downgrade Lulinha Influence Peddling Probe, Citing Lack of Jurisdiction

The Prosecutor General's Office (PGR) has formally requested that Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) transfer one of the three inquiries against Fábio Luís Lula da Silva—known as ‘Lulinha’ and the eldest son of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva—to a federal first-instance court. The move, if approved, would remove the high-profile investigation from the immediate oversight of the country's highest judicial body, significantly changing the political dynamics of the case ahead of the next election cycle.

The PGR argued that the specific inquiry into alleged influence peddling has no legal basis to remain at the STF because it does not involve any individual currently protected by foro privilegiado (special jurisdiction). Foro privilegiado is a legal mechanism in Brazil that mandates certain high-ranking officials—such as the President, Congress members, and ministers—be tried only by specific superior courts, most often the STF. By certifying that no official with special jurisdiction is a target in this particular probe, the PGR is effectively stating the Supreme Court’s authority over the case is no longer necessary.

The investigation centers on Lulinha's alleged role in brokering a deal involving a cannabis medicine project with the federal government. While it grew out of the wider probe into fraud at the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), investigators have found no evidence linking Lulinha directly to the funds diverted from the INSS scheme, keeping this particular inquiry focused on influence peddling and corruption suspicions. Moving the case out of the STF, where it is constantly under the national political spotlight, hands control to a regional judge, a shift that typically lowers the public temperature and pace of the proceedings.

The request now sits with Minister André Mendonça, who is the rapporteur for two of the three inquiries involving Fábio Luís Lula da Silva. Mendonça, who was nominated to the court by a previous administration, will be responsible for deciding whether the PGR’s argument is sufficient to strip the case of its special status and transfer it to a common federal court. This decision will determine where and how the political investigation into the President’s son proceeds, with implications for President Lula’s administration and the political climate.