Brazil Police Crack Down on $4.2 Billion Fuel Scheme

(Bloomberg) – Brazil’s federal police launched a comprehensive pressure on organized crime throughout the country’s fuel supply chain and revealed more illegal transactions than a total of 23 billion Reais (4.2 billion dollars).

Police said on Thursday that the so -called Quasar and tank investigations aim to eliminate sophisticated money laundering plans for criminal organizations. Organized Crime Group Primeiro Cando da Capital (PCC) members are among those among the Sao Paulo Public Prosecutors Office, who also participated in the operation.

Operation tank, Paraná, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states 14 arrest warrants and 42 search-semers. Inspectors say that the network has been active since 2019, that it lasted at least 600 million Reais and channels more than 23 billion Reais to hundreds of reais, including gas stations, distributors, holding companies, collection agencies, and even Central Bank authorized payment institutions.

On Thursday morning, dozens of police cars landed at the Faria Lima Boulevard in Sao Paulo, known as Brazilia’s Wall Street. According to public prosecutors, Sao Paulo aims to investigate 350 people and the company. In addition to other crimes, the group is suspected that economic crimes, fuel harassment, environmental violations, money laundering and tax fraud. Irregularities are defined in many stages of fuel production and distribution chain.

In one case, the investigation revealed a methanol import conspiracy from the port of Paranaguá in the state of Paraná. The prosecutor said that instead of going to registered buyers, the methanol was secretly directed to gas stations and distributors.

Inspectors also revealed fraud at more than 300 gas stations, which had to deliver their businesses to criminal groups without any payment. If the owners tried to seek compensation, they received death threats.

According to researchers from public prosecutors, financial transactions were directed through the fintechs controlled by the organized crime consisting of companies in the fuel sector.

“The Fintechs operates with parallel accounting systems and provided transfers between companies and individuals,” Sao Paulo prosecutors said, and without defining the latest utilitors. ” He said.

The Brazilian Tax Administration said that one of these companies carried more than 46 billion Reais between 2020 and 2024 and received cash deposits. The authority said that there are smaller payment institutions used to cover up the transactions.

The agency said that the organization can make it difficult to watch by using payment institutions and non -traditional banks. He also used accounts held by Fintechs in commercial banks to carry resources without defining customers.

Later, the profits and the revenues of laundering were hidden to hide their real owners in investment funds. The authority said the criminal organization controls at least 40 investment funds with 30 billion Reais in assets. These funds purchased assets such as port terminal and four ethanol production facilities.

Inspectors said that financial companies did not have to announce their customer operations to the tax authority by 2024. Authorized, reforms aimed at making such financial transactions more transparent, said that they were canceled at the beginning of this year due to false information about them.

Financial firms Reag Investimentos Sa and CIA Brasileira de Servicos Financeiros sa, in a regulatory file, confirmed that research orders were presented in their offices as part of the investigations. “They cooperate with the authorities who provide the requested information and documents and will remain available for additional explanations that may be necessary,” he said.

Quasar operation, Sao Paulo, Campinas and Ribeirao Preto cities in 12 search and seama warrants. The group under the investigation has specialized in the money laundering and fraudulent management of financial institutions using investment funds to hide illegal assets. According to the police, evidence points to guiding connections with crime gangs.

The operation was welcomed by the best fuel distributors that argue that the prolonged guilt has been eroded for a long time. Supported by companies such as Petrobras, Shell and Vibra, under the state -controlled Brazilian state -controlled companies, supported today’s operation and said that the organized crime directly affects tax collection and competition in the fuel sector beyond the money laundering and public security.

-Help from Daniel Carvalho.

(He corrects the pressure day until Thursday in the fourth and third to third to the last paragraphs)

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