Brazil: Former councilman allegedly linked to illegal raffle scheme
Marlon Farias Luz, São Paulo’s former city councillor, was made to stand down from his position.
The Municipality of São Paulo confirmed that former city councillor Marlon Farias Luz will be dismissed from his monthly BR28.000 ($5.230) adviser position after an investigation.
The report revealed that Luz is under scrutiny for allegedly using food baskets supplied by the city’s social programme in charitable actions promoted by his private association, Sorte Grande (“Big luck”), which runs online raffles considered illegal under Brazilian law.
The Municipal Comptroller’s Office has opened an administrative process to determine whether the company advertised these food distributions as if they were funded by raffle proceeds, while in reality the items originated from the city’s social assistance stock.
Videos posted by the association show Luz participating in deliveries and suggesting that the baskets were financed by the “funds collected from raffles”, while carefully avoiding showing the City Hall logo printed on the boxes.
Meanwhile, the association’s branding appears prominently in the footage.
City records show that the company received 546 food baskets since 2023, including 276 during the municipal election year, contradicting the narrative that the donations were privately funded.
The association is registered at the same address as Luz’s political office, reinforcing concerns about potential conflicts between public resources, private activities and political visibility.
According to federal regulation, only charitable organizations authorized by the Ministry of Finance may conduct raffles with ticket sales, and strict rules prohibit cash prizes, require formal licensing and tie the activity exclusively to philanthropic work.
Sorte Grande operates outside these parameters, offering vehicles and transfers worth up to BR30.000 through online draws.
Luz denies any wrongdoing, arguing that the raffles are “philanthropic, free and without economic exploitation” and that distributing Government-supplied baskets during public events is lawful.
The Ministry of Finance has not confirmed whether the association holds any authorization to run such raffles.
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