The Civil Police of São Paulo carried out an operation on Thursday (4) morning against a gang being investigated for PCC money laundering. Six arrest warrants and 48 search and seizure warrants were issued against members of organized crime.
Operation Falso Mercury is carried out by 100 police officers from Deic (State Criminal Investigation Department) in the capital São Paulo and Greater São Paulo.
According to the Public Security Secretariat, the court ordered the seizure of 49 properties, three ships, and 257 vehicles registered in the names of the suspects.
The accounts of at least 20 individuals and 37 legal entities have been blocked by court order.
Investigations conducted by the Third General Investigation Department indicate the formation of a money laundering structure for crimes such as drug trafficking, embezzlement and gambling.
The network, according to the police, operated in three areas: fundraisers, those responsible for collecting money; intermediaries responsible for transferring and hiding resources; and the ultimate beneficiaries who actually received the “laundered” money.
Public Security Minister Osvaldo Nico Gonçalves, who accompanied the teams’ early morning departure, said: “It is one of the largest operations launched by the civil police against money laundering. Those involved in the crime lived a luxurious life and made millions from illicit activity. Today we made progress against this criminal network.”
According to delegate Ronaldo Al-Sayegh, from Al-Dayek, this is the largest asset and financial investigation undertaken by the department.
“We follow the guideline of decapitation of organized crime and recovery of assets. This operation is emblematic of that given the number of properties and assets blocked and restricted,” he added.