This study by Transparência Brasil and Movimento Pessoas à Frente analyzed the R$12.7 billion paid by the Board of Trustees for Attorneys’ Fees (CCHA) to 13,200 active and inactive federal government lawyers and prosecutors between Jan.2020 and Aug.2025.

It was found that the distribution, especially in the last two years, mimics the practice of distorting and paying amounts outside the constitutional ceiling. Over the entire period, R$4.5 billion was paid out, with 58% (7,649) of the beneficiaries receiving cumulative payments of more than R$1 million.

The CCHA manages the amounts collected by the Federal Government, including foundations and autarchies, in the form of attorney’s fees and a portion of the legal charges for outstanding debt. Considering each monthly payment, 74% of civil servants (9,801) received more than R$100,000 at least once in their paychecks.

In order to circumvent the ceiling, the rulings of the Supreme Court and the Federal Court of Auditors, and the rules stipulated in Law No. 13,327/2016, the CCHA created various penduricalhos, i.e. sums classified as indemnities so that the remuneration limit would not be applied to these bonuses.

In addition, new members of legal careers begin to receive these penduricalhos in the month following their appointment, as opposed to the one-year period established in the legislation, and dead people are listed as beneficiaries.

The findings endorse the urgent need for effective control over the legal fees managed by the CCHA, restoring the authority of the constitutional ceiling and imbuing transparency and rationality into their payment.