For Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, the actions were ‘the greatest in history against organized crime’
The three operations triggered on Thursday (28) against criminal money laundering through the fuel sector resulted in the fulfillment of more than 400 court orders, including 14 prison and hundreds of searches and seizures in at least eight states.
Judicial measures led to blockade and kidnapping of more than R $ 3.2 billion in goods and values. The criminal groups moved, approximately R $ 140 billion.
For the Minister of Justice, the operations were “the greatest in history against organized crime.” They are the result of the partnership between different bodies, which, according to him, further reinforces the importance of the proposal of amendment to the Constitution (PEC) of public security, in process.
According to the authorities present – among them, the Minister of Finance, and the managing director of, Andrei Rodrigues, as well as Lewandowski – the way criminals to launder the crime money was to use resources in the real economy and the financial market.
“Today we have triggered one of the largest operations in history against organized crime, especially in its acting in the legal market. We attacked, at this time, in the fuel sector, the appropriation of criminal organizations in part of the fuel sector, and their connection with financial sector regarding money laundering,” said Lewandowski.
Three operations
Of the three operations triggered today, two were by the Federal Police (Quasar and Tank); and one by the Public Prosecution Service of São Paulo (). Participated in the three.
As there were many targets in common, there was cooperation involving various organs, both in the federal and state levels. Because they are spheres of action and different skills, the integration of forces was even more necessary.
“What happened was the synchronization of these actions. There is an integration between the three operations that could very well happen at various times, but it is with losses. We worked in absolute harmony,” explained PF Director General Andrei Rodrigues.
Operation hidden carbon is focused on dismantling fraud and tax evasion in the fuel sector, articulated by criminal organizations. Quasar and Tank aim to dismantle a criminal organization specializing in money laundering and fraudulent management of financial institutions.
Investigations identified a sophisticated scheme that used investment funds to hide the assets of illicit origin.
Quasar e Tank
Only within the PF, according to the director of the entity, 141 vehicles were seized; 1,500 vehicles were kidnapped; More than R $ 300 thousand in cash seized; More than $ 1 billion blocked. 192 properties and two vessels were also seized or kidnapped.
In addition, 21 investment funds had full blockade, as well as actions compared to 41 individuals and 255 legal entities. Of the 14 arrest warrants, six had been fulfilled until early afternoon.
In the example, the inquiry was instituted from another PF operation, focused on drug trafficking, established in March 2023.
“Here, the focus is on fuel chain fraud. We find deposit fractionation, staff, intermediary and financial operators, money collection, pockets, tampering and fuel sales fraud. Fundamentally money laundering, ideological falsehood, criminal organization and fuel tampering,” said Andrei Rodrigues.
Hidden carbon
Some details of the Operation Operation Hidden were presented by the Undersecretary of IRS, Andrea Chaves.
“We realize, especially in Operation Hidden Carbon, an invasion of organized crime in the real economy and the financial market. This is extremely relevant because, besides the competitive issue, there is a matter of not separating what is legitimate and what is legitimate,” said Andrea.
According to her, the criminal structure involved the entire fuel chain, from imports to the end consumer, through the production, distribution and marketing steps. “And, in the financial part, acted in concealment and shielding of heritage, in a scheme similar to the concealment of members of tax havens,” he added.
“For us to have a notion, there are about a thousand gas stations in more than 10 states, moving $ 52 billion. [empresa de tecnologia] He actually active as a parallel bank of organized crime, ”he added.
The gas stations cited by the Undersecretary are located in Sao Paulo, Bahia, Goiás, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais, Maranhão, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro and Tocantins.
The hidden carbon served 12 search and seizure warrants in the cities of São Paulo, Campinas and Ribeirão Preto. The Federal Court authorized the full kidnapping of the investment funds used for these illicit movements and authorized the block of up to R $ 1.2 billion, amount corresponding to the tax assessments already performed.
Crime Refinery
According to Minister Haddad, the operations were not “chance of chance”, but the result of a political decision. “We created a team in 2023 to decipher structured frauds that have sophisticated financial mechanisms, even using large investors in the financial market,” said Haddad.
In this sense, the intelligence of the state was used to reach the true leaders of the crime. According to Haddad, more than 1,000 Federal and Subnational Plan servers participated in operations. “We are dismantling the crime refinery,” he said.
“We managed to decipher the way of money, which is very sophisticated, with many layers, involving closed funds [de investimentos]. To reach the criminal’s assets, you need the intelligence of the fiscal auditors, who have opened the bills and understood the path of money, ”he added.
“Were it not for that, we would not have been able to reach more than a thousand gas stations, four refineries and more than a thousand trucks that were available to the crime to transport the usually adulterated fuel,” the minister added.
*With information from Agência Brasil
Posted by Nátaly Tenório
