The Director General of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues, said this Monday (22) that a notebook was enough for two young people to commit the biggest bank robbery in the country’s history, in a five-star hotel in Brasilia. “In half a dozen commands, they managed to embezzle 800 million reais, most of which was fortunately recovered,” he said.
The PF leader was referring to the largest cyberattack in the country’s history, which occurred on June 30. 813.79 million reais were embezzled from accounts held at the Central Bank, thanks to the infiltration of the systems of C&M Software, a company that acts as a link between financial institutions and Pix.
The robbery of the Central Bank of Fortaleza in 2005, for example, which required tunnels, engineering and logistics work and resulted in several deaths in the sharing of the money, left losses of 165 million reais.
The investigation into the computer attack revealed a complex money laundering operation, which led to a cooperation agreement between police authorities, Febraban (Brazilian Banking Federation) and BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development).
The public company linked to the Mdic (Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services) and 25 banks will share information and knowledge to facilitate the fight against financial and digital crime.
According to Rodrigues, developments in Operation Magna Fraus, which investigated suspects in the crime, also led British Columbia to review the regulation of “pocket accounts,” which pooled the resources of multiple people under a single holder.
Joint Resolution No. 16 of the Monetary Authority requires the sharing of information on the holders of each corresponding bank account with the financial institution that acts as a bank as a service (baas, which allows companies from different segments to offer financial services to their customers).
The dispersal of the money stolen in the attack on C&M Software occurred through bank accounts and cryptocurrencies, according to conversations obtained by the MP-SP (Public Ministry of the State of São Paulo) between two of the suspects: medical student Patrick Zanquetim de Morais and Ítalo Jordi Santos Pireneus — nicknamed Breu.
The lawyers listed in the files of Zanquetim and his partner Nilla Vitória Ribeiro Campos, also arrested during the investigation, say they have abandoned the case. Searched by Leafattorney Eduardo Moura, who represents Breu, has not responded to emails since November. His work phone also goes unanswered.
At Monday’s event, BNDES President Aloizio Mercadante said financial institutions that do not report to the BC are a problem for the financial system. “The problem is the pocket accounts, which are opened with two CPFs and a CNPJ. They receive money from crime, but what appears publicly is just the CNPJ and two CPFs. Below, everything is rotten, it’s pure laundering,” he declared.
Mercadante suggests that the monetary authority reduce the adjustment period to six months, scheduled for the end of next year. “It hasn’t been regularized, it’s closing.”
According to the president of Febraban, Isaac Sidney, after the attack on C&M Software and Operação Carbono Oculto, which were investigating funds suspected of money laundering, the entity composed of the main banks carried out self-regulation to make it difficult to open accounts in the name of third parties and immediately close those suspected.
PF FOUND A MEDICAL STUDENT AND A POKER PLAYER
According to investigations, Henrique Magnavita Lins, known as “Russo”, and Wesley Nascimento Lopes, known as “Spider”, and Marcos Paulo Pereira de Oliveira, nicknamed “Leitão”, would complete the central core of the cyberattack, alongside Breu and Zanquetim. The five are arrested.
Breu would be responsible for the articulation, while Zanquetim would provide the “summary of values” (a phrase used by cybercriminals to refer to the release of money). He would do this with cryptocurrencies by charging a 3% commission, according to the MP-SP’s complaint.
Russo, a resident of São Paulo in Goiânia, and Spider from Minas Gerais also allegedly coordinated the operation. According to the MP-SP, the suspects created a fraudulent mirror system that sent orders as if they were from C&M Software directly to the Central Bank.
The transfers took place with an Internet connection under the responsibility of Leitão. The network was registered to an orange man.
The young people mentioned by the PF leader were Breu and Russo, who led the execution of the crime at the Royal Tulip, a five-star hotel in the federal capital, according to statements made to authorities.
THE Leaf failed to locate the defenses of Russo, Spider and Leitão.
Authorities have arrested 23 people since the investigation into the incident began, not including João Nazareno Roque, a C&M Software employee arrested by São Paulo civil police. Two arrests took place during the first phase of Operation PF, on July 15 and 21, and during the second phase, on October 30.
During the operations, authorities seized 15 high-end luxury vehicles, like those in the possession of the suspects, including two BMW cars, a Mercedes Benz, as well as a Porsche (Cayenne) sports utility vehicle.
The report notes ongoing criminal cases in São Paulo, Goiás and federal courts.
The breach of confidentiality of the accounts of the cryptocurrency brokerage company Bybit, at the request of the PF, revealed the names of Zanquetim and Nilla.
Of the 813.79 million reais embezzled through Pix during the attack on C&M Software, around 205 million reais reached the cryptocurrency wallets of Zanquetim and Nilla, a couple living in Goiânia, arrested in July. He is a medical student, she is a recently qualified doctor.
Another relevant source was the broker’s cell phone. On the device, investigators found the first references to Breu, who said he was a poker player. According to a complaint from the MP-SP, he is part of the central core which carried out the computer attack.
Also on October 30, the Federal Police arrested independent Marcos Paulo Pereira de Oliveira in Goiânia. Already in detention, he told the PF that he had acted as Breu’s driver, during a trip to Brasilia on June 29, the day before the incident.
In his testimony, Oliveira identified seven other suspects who were in the federal capital, including Russo. When contacted, Oliveira’s lawyer also did not respond to the report.
In the driver’s house, the PF found, in addition to a BMW, cryptocurrency wallets and electronic devices. Officers also seized electronic devices and cash from the homes of five other suspects in Goiânia.
According to information from the O Bastidor website, confirmed by Leaf, Breu and four other suspects left Brazil in July aboard a private jet bound for Buenos Aires. Authorities then arrested Breu in Madrid.
Russo and Spider left the country for Frankfurt, Germany on July 1.
On October 31, the PF announced the execution of six arrest warrants in Spain and two in Argentina.
About The Author
