By Ricardo Brito and Isabel Teles
BRASILIA, July 3 (Reuters) – Brazil’s federal police have launched an operation targeting suspects sanctioned by the United States over alleged ties to the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) drug gang, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
Federal police did not identify the suspects but said in a statement that the operation aimed to dismantle a criminal group accused of laundering proceeds from international drug trafficking.
Investigators said the suspects allegedly ran a sophisticated network that moved and laundered money through cryptocurrency transfers, cash transportation, high-value banking transactions and transfers between individuals and companies.
A preliminary analysis identified more than 10 billion reais ($1.92 billion) in financial transactions linked to the scheme, federal police said.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control added two Brazilian nationals to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, alleging Victor Henrique de Oliveira Shimada had links to the PCC, one of Brazil’s biggest criminal organizations, and Stella Stefanie Nunes Henrique de Oliveira had links to Shimada. Oliveira was arrested in the operation, the two sources said. Shimada remains at large, one of the sources said.
Shimada’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. In a statement on Thursday, his defense denied any involvement with a criminal organization or with money laundering. Reuters could not immediately reach Oliveira’s representatives.
The U.S. designated PCC and rival gang Comando Vermelho (CV) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) effective last month.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s administration has sought to avoid such designations, fearing they could eventually open the door to U.S. military action or sanctions on banks that unknowingly do business with gang members.
According to the second source, the operation was planned before the U.S. sanctions were imposed but was accelerated after the suspects were added to the SDN list.
The U.S. sanctions also targeted three Brazilian entities, two of them in the financial sector, for their alleged links to one of the sanctioned individuals.
($1 = 5.2060 reais)
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia. Additional reporting and writing by Isabel Teles in Sao Paulo. Editing by Gareth Jones and Mark Potter)
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