Portugal suspends 182 disability pensions after doctor arrested in Benavente fraud scheme

Arrests in Benavente

Portuguese judicial police detained doctor Emuna Mia on Wednesday in Benavente, Santarém district, as part of Operation “Relax.” Authorities also arrested her personal assistant and two other physicians, brothers Pedro Barreira and João Vasco Barreira, known as the Twin Docs. The four were presented to the Central Criminal Investigation Court in Lisbon for a first judicial interrogation and possible coercive measures.

The investigation, led by the National Anti-Corruption Unit, carried out 19 search warrants across Lisbon, Santarém, and Leiria. Three medical offices were searched, including Mia’s clinic in Santo Estevão. In total, nine suspects were formally named in the case.

The fraud scheme

Mia allegedly charged at least €1,000 per case to produce fraudulent disability certificates that enabled workers to claim invalidity pensions. The scheme, revealed in April by a SIC investigation, operated since 2020 and involved dozens of employees from public companies such as the Lisbon bus operator Carris. Detectives described a “criminal plan” that caused the state losses of hundreds of thousands of euros.

The plan allowed numerous beneficiaries to receive invalidity and occupational disease pensions illegally.

The Medical Council opened disciplinary proceedings against Mia in April, citing “allegedly serious breaches of medical ethics and deontology.” The General Inspectorate of Health Activities also began an inspection.

Audit and pension suspensions

Following a complaint forwarded by the Health Regulatory Authority, the Social Security Institute conducted an internal audit. On 17 and 18 June, new medical boards re-evaluated 196 beneficiaries selected through geographic criteria and identification of the instructor physician. Only 14 were confirmed as legitimately incapacitated; the remaining 182 were declared fit to work. Their pensions were suspended with immediate effect from July.

Of the 196 beneficiaries evaluated, 182 were considered ‘capable’ and the payment of their respective pensions was suspended immediately with effect from July.

ISS estimates the total saving at around €18.5 million, factoring in the average age of the affected beneficiaries and the expected date they would transition to an old-age pension. Another estimate places the figure at over €18 million.

Ongoing collaboration

ISS stated it has been cooperating with judicial authorities since January, when the criminal investigation began within the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The police note that the fraud primarily targeted the public social security system and that additional beneficiaries are still under review.