Brazil targets $9.7 billion crypto laundering operation
The Brazilian Federal Police have dismantled a major operation that used cryptocurrencies to launder money from criminal activities and transfer it abroad.
The crackdown, known as Operation Niflheim, involved issuing eight arrest warrants and 19 search and seizure orders targeting criminal groups operating in cities including Caxias do Sul, Sao Paulo, Fortaleza, and Brasilia.
Since 2021, these groups have laundered over $9.7 billion using cryptocurrencies.
Operation Niflheim, conducted in collaboration with the Federal Revenue Service, Brazil’s tax authority, aimed to dismantle three organisations involved in large-scale money laundering.
The Brazilian Federal Court ordered the freezing of $1.58 billion in assets held in bank accounts and cryptocurrency exchanges linked to these operations.
In addition, authorities seized several vehicles and properties connected to the criminal activities.
These organisations used shell companies and other methods to hide the origins of their illicit funds, which were generated primarily through drug trafficking and smuggling.
Once laundered, the money was transferred to various international locations, including the United States, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hong Kong, and China, to further obscure its origins.
"The crimes investigated are money laundering or concealment of assets, crimes against the national financial system, ideological falsehood, criminal association, criminal organisation, and crimes against the tax system," stated the Brazilian Federal Police, outlining the range of illegal activities carried out by these groups.
Although the three groups were believed to operate independently, the investigations revealed a high level of cooperation among them.
This has led authorities to suspect that they may, in fact, constitute a single organisation with leaders based in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, and Orlando, Florida, in the United States.
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