Police carry out operation against organized crime

Brazil's Federal Police (PF) carried out an operation this Thursday to "dismantle the financial core" of organized crime in nine Brazilian cities.

According to the Federal Police, three preventive arrest warrants and twelve search and seizure warrants were served, and properties and financial investments worth more than two million euros belonging to the suspects were also seized.

This operation “aims to dismantle the financial core of the criminal organization responsible for operating the movement, accounting and laundering of money from international drug trafficking, using a complex network of individuals and legal entities,” indicated the Federal Police.

The first phase of the operation, carried out on December 10, 2024, revealed the existence of a sophisticated money laundering scheme .

The criminal group moved large amounts of cash, carried out parallel exchange transactions, used fintechs and shell companies, and created false documents to disguise the illicit origin of the money.

Investigations also indicate that the organization's leaders allegedly used part of the money from international drug trafficking to acquire a football club through intermediaries, while simultaneously maintaining links with the leadership of a criminal faction, Primeiro Comando Capital (PCC).