O Coaf (Financial Activities Control Council) expanded the fight against organized crime in the country with new offices in strategic cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Foz do Iguaçu.
The capitals of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are known for their PCC (First Command of the Capital) and Red Command. The city of Paraná is an important point for the criminal activity of factions, which use the region of triple border (with Argentina and Paraguay) for drug and weapons traffickingsmuggling, embezzlement and others.
For Ricardo Saadi, president of Coaf, the expansion of the Council to important locations of organized crime will allow the body learn more about the criminal flow in the regions.
“It’s much better if we can be close to the obligated sectors and authorities. São Paulo is the country’s financial center, where major investigations by both the police and the Public Ministry”, he stated during the inauguration of the office in São Paulo on the afternoon of this Wednesday (1st).
Saadi took over Coaf about a year ago, after leaving the PF’s directorate for combating organized crime and corruption. The expansion to the three states is just one first step towards future expansions of the body in other parts of Brazil.
The president of the Central Bank, Gabriel Galípolo, and the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Wellington César Lima e Silva, also participated in the inauguration and highlighted, respectively, Saadi’s long intention to strengthen Coaf and the importance of changing the level in the fight against organized crime as a purpose of the federal government.
The president clarified that Coaf does not carry out investigations, but only prepares RIFs (), following requests for transaction analysis by security forces or private institutions. In 2025, the Council carried out more than 20 thousand reports that assisted in police investigations.
Investment in technology
Working with “total and unrestricted” autonomyCoaf goes through a process of adjustments and improvements, mainly after a investment of R$30 million of the Ministry of Justice signed last Thursday (25). The amount will be allocated mainly to expansion of technological capacity of the organ.
Modernization and the expansion of human resources and structure were the main highlights. See the advances that are already being explored:
- Development of communications analysis system and sending RIFs to security forces;
- When communicating with Coaf, it will be possible to insert data more intelligently, to better treatment and calculation of financial data;
- “Admissibility judgment” sector within the intelligence nucleus: in-depth assessment of requests from authorities before preparing a report.
The director general of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, was also present and highlighted the importance of Coaf’s presence in the country’s financial center, in addition to the need for combat criminal factions with “quality and analytical speed”.
“São Paulo as a dynamic environment has a vitality that is a strength, but which requires a permanent ability to identify vulnerabilities. Contemporary organized crime depends on accounting and analysis of digital operations and money laundering mechanisms“, said Andrei.
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With the signing of an agreement, the PF and Coaf consolidate their complementary and connected functions for the identification of the financial flows of criminal organizations.
The office opening event was also attended by Isaac Sidneypresident of Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks), and Leandro VilainCEO of ABBC (Brazilian Banks Association).
