Judicial Police Arrest Three Doctors Over a Fake-Disability Pension Scheme as Social Security Halts 182 Payments
In 'Operação Relax', the Judicial Police detained four people, three of them doctors, over an alleged racket certifying fraudulent invalidity pensions for cash. Social Security has suspended 182 payments, saving an estimated €18.5 million.
The PJ (Polícia Judiciária — Judicial Police) has arrested four people, three of them doctors, in an investigation into an alleged racket that waved through fraudulent invalidity pensions in exchange for cash — a scheme that prosecutors say may have cost Portugal's social-security system tens of millions of euros.
The operation, codenamed "Operação Relax," was run by the force's national anti-corruption unit. Alongside the arrests, nine people have been formally named as suspects (arguidos), and 19 search warrants were carried out across the districts of Lisbon, Santarém and Leiria.
Who was detained
Those held include a physician from Benavente and two twin brothers, both doctors, who built a large social-media following as the "Twin Docs." According to investigators, the twins served as assessors at the disability-evaluation board in Santarém, the body that certifies whether a claimant qualifies for an invalidity pension.
The Benavente doctor is alleged to have charged roughly €1,000 per case to certify claimants as incapacitated, clearing the way for pensions to which they were not entitled. The suspected offences include passive and active corruption, aggravated document forgery and aggravated fraud against the social-security system, with the scheme said to date back to 2020.
182 pensions frozen
The fallout has been swift. The ISS (Instituto da Segurança Social — Social Security Institute) summoned 196 beneficiaries to fresh medical boards on 17 and 18 June and found 182 of them "capable," immediately suspending their disability payments.
- Immediate saving: an estimated €1,218,672 by the end of 2026 from the suspended pensions.
- Projected total: savings of around €18.5 million over the lifetime of the payments avoided.
- How it surfaced: the case was triggered by a referral from the ERS (Entidade Reguladora da Saúde — Health Regulatory Authority), with the ISS and judicial authorities collaborating since January 2026.
A test for the disability system
Invalidity pensions are a core pillar of Portugal's welfare state, paid to people whose health leaves them unable to work. That makes the medical-assessment boards a critical gatekeeper — and a tempting target. The Santarém case suggests that a single compromised assessor can generate a long tail of improper payments before the pattern is caught.
For the ISS, the challenge now is to separate genuine claimants from fraudulent ones without penalising people who legitimately depend on the payments. Beneficiaries whose pensions were suspended can appeal and be re-evaluated, and the institute has stressed that the June boards were a verification exercise, not a blanket cut.
What this means for residents
- Legitimate claimants: Those receiving invalidity pensions on genuine medical grounds are not the target, but may face additional verification as the ISS tightens controls.
- Public finances: The case underscores how fraud detection can protect the system's sustainability, with millions in improper payments already halted.
- Trust in the professions: With three doctors among the accused, the affair is likely to sharpen scrutiny of how medical boards certify disability.
The suspects were due to appear before a judge for their first questioning and the imposition of coercive measures. The investigation, prosecutors indicate, is far from over.
