Flávio Dino says that Rio is experiencing “chaos” because factions are “ultracapitalized”

The minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Flávio Dino, stated this Tuesday (28) that the “chaos” in public security in Rio de Janeiro arises from the high financial power of criminal factions, which would be operating not only in drug trafficking, but also within the formal market.

“Why is there this confusion in Rio de Janeiro? There is this chaos because the criminal factions are ultracapitalized. And how do they capitalize? They don’t make money just by selling drugs — it’s within the formal market”, declared the minister during the Brazil Export Infrastructure 2025 National Forum.

Dino cited the mega police operation launched this week in the Alemão and Penha complexes, which left 64 people dead, 60 of whom were suspects and 4 police officers, including the head of the 53rd DP, Marcus Vinicius Cardoso de Carvalho. The action was the most lethal in the history of Rio de Janeiro, according to the state government.

Financial institutions

When detailing his analysis, Dino stated that the factions expanded their sources of income and now operate in activities such as mining, real estate and fuel.

“Gone are the days when factions lived solely from the illegal market. Today, they are major operators in mining, the real estate market, the fuel market. Where is this money? Under the mattress? No. It is in financial institutions”, said the minister, when suggesting the need for greater control over the origin of resources moved by the banking system.

The judge made the statement when commenting on the new resolution by Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks), which obliges banks to block suspicious transactions and close orange, cold accounts or accounts linked to illegal betting.

“We are creating a milestone in the process of purging toxic relationships with customers who rent or sell accounts and who use the financial system to launder dirty criminal money,” said the president of Febraban, Isaac Sidney, in an official statement.

Megaoperation

Operation Containment mobilized 2,500 Civil and Military police officers and resulted in the arrest of 81 people, in addition to the seizure of 72 rifles, 200 kilos of drugs and nine motorcycles.

Governor Cláudio Castro (PL), in turn, once again held the federal government responsible for not authorizing the use of armored vehicles by the Armed Forces.

“We’ve asked for the armored vehicles a few times and they were all denied. They said there had to be a GLO, because the server that operates the armored vehicles is federal. And the president is against the GLO. Every day we have a reason not to collaborate,” said Castro.

In response, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, headed by Ricardo Lewandowski, denied omission and said that it had responded to all requests from the Rio de Janeiro government since 2023.

“All 11 requests for renewal of the National Public Security Force were accepted,” said the ministry in a statement.