Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said on Thursday (27/11) that Brazil should seek to conclude a cooperation agreement with the United States to combat organized crime. The minister held a press conference to talk about the developments of the “Operação Poço de Lobato” operation, which targeted a refinery affiliated with the Fit Group, which owes more than 26 billion Brazilian riyals in taxes and is being investigated for fraud.
According to Haddad, the goals of “Operation Poco de Lobato” will be to work in the United States to carry out currency evasion as well as money laundering.
Haddad said this morning, Thursday (11/27), “This will be the subject of discussion between the Brazilian and American authorities to reach a cooperation agreement in this regard (combat organized crime).”
The state of Delaware in the United States stated that Haddad was an overseas base for illegal operations. “They use the state of Delaware, in the United States, for money laundering operations. The operation involves opening dozens of companies. In the scheme, you can provide a loan of money and return resources (to Brazil) in the form of investment,” described the minister who said that only one of the illegal operations was worth R$1.2 billion.
Haddad also stated that the issue of a possible cooperation agreement with the United States of America has already been raised to the President of the Republic, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party) and the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandowski.
Moreover, according to the minister, weapon parts illegally leave the United States and arrive in Brazil to supply organized crime.
“You buy a commodity, and in the middle of the container, spare parts or the weapons themselves come. This is what happens in Brazil. If we have a control device there at the exit and one here at the entrance, that will increase our efficiency (in fighting crime),” the minister stated.
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The Minister of Finance also took the opportunity to once again raise his defense of approving the bill against the defaulting debtor. The text, which according to the minister “is neither an opposition project nor a position,” has already been approved in the Senate and now requires consideration in the House of Representatives.
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Thursday’s operation targets a company in the fuel sector that would have caused losses of 26 billion reais to the coffers of the state and the federal government. 190 search and seizure warrants were executed in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Maranhão and the Federal District.
The objectives of the operation are linked to the Refit Group, which owns the Manguinhos refinery in Rio de Janeiro, and other companies in the fuel sector. The group led by businessman Ricardo Magro has been identified as the largest ICMS debtor in São Paulo.
Those investigated in this operation would be operators of illegal financial transactions between Brazil and the United States.