The United States Treasury Department announced this Wednesday (1st) sanctions against two Brazilians, three companies based in Brazil and a company in Portugal for alleged links with the First Capital Command (PCC), described by the American government as the largest transnational criminal organization in the Western Hemisphere, also operating in the United Kingdom, Turkey and Japan.
According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac), the group exploited the US financial system to launder proceeds from drug trafficking.
Among those sanctioned is Victor Henrique de Oliveira Shimada, appointed by the Treasury as leader of the network’s São Paulo nucleus and link between PCC operators in Florida and international traffickers.
According to the statement, Shimada allegedly laundered more than US$30 million in illicit resources generated in different American cities, using cryptocurrencies to transfer the amounts to Brazil.
Stella Stefanie Nunes Henrique de Oliveira, described as a close collaborator of Shimada, was also sanctioned.
The measures also affect the companies Victory Trading Business Intermediation, Collections and Technology, Pixwave Soluções de Pagos, Wave Construções Inteligentes and the Portuguese Avenidas Flotuantes Unipessoal.
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With the decision, all assets and interests of targets under United States jurisdiction are blocked, and American citizens and companies are prohibited from carrying out transactions with them.
The Treasury also stated that, in January 2025, Shimada was placed under house arrest in Brazil because Victory Trading had been used to launder funds diverted from a Brazilian football club in an advertising fraud scheme.
Although the statement does not mention Corinthians by name, Shimada’s company appears in the investigations into the Vai de Bet case, which investigates an alleged embezzlement and money laundering scheme related to the club’s sponsorship contract.
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According to a complaint from the Public Ministry of São Paulo, Victory Trading was the last company through which the resources passed before being transferred to UJ Football, also investigated in the case.
Ofac highlighted that this is the third round of sanctions against the PCC since 2021 and stated that the organization represents a growing threat to US national security due to its role in money laundering, drug trafficking and cash smuggling.
