The São Paulo Civil Police have dismantled a significant money laundering scheme run by the notorious drug gang First Capital Command (PCC). The criminal operation was disguised as a cryptocurrency exchange, which handled transactions totaling approximately 500 million reais ($89 million).
On Tuesday, São Paulo’s Civil Police announced the successful dismantling of a money laundering network operated by the First Capital Command (PCC), a major drug gang in Brazil. The criminal group utilized a company posing as a crypto exchange to launder substantial sums of money.
According to a CNN report, the company in question processed transactions amounting to around 500 million reais ($89 million). During the police operation, authorities seized checks worth 55 million reais ($8.9 million) from the company’s headquarters, the name of which has not yet been disclosed.
The coordinated raids were conducted following the issuance of 20 arrest warrants and 60 search and seizure warrants against individuals connected to the PCC in various cities across São Paulo state. In addition to the raids, Brazilian courts have frozen more than 8 billion reais ($1.4 billion) in assets belonging to those implicated in the investigation.
The First Capital Command is recognized as one of Latin America’s most formidable criminal organizations, with an estimated 40,000 members and close to 60,000 contractors, according to a recent report by The Economist.
This operation marks a significant crackdown on the use of cryptocurrency for illicit activities and underscores ongoing efforts by Brazilian authorities to combat organized crime and financial corruption.
