RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian police launched a mega operation in several states on Thursday to crush a money laundering network active in the country’s fuel sector in cahoots with financial companies.

The network is alleged to have concealed ill-gotten gains valued at some 52 billion reais (about $9.6bn) in dozens of investment funds in four years to 2024, said a statement announcing “the largest operation against organised crime in the country’s history”.

The group controlled a fuel supply chain all the way from import, production, distribution and marketing to the end consumer, and was active in the “concealment and shielding of assets via fintechs and investment funds”, the statement said.

The network adulterated fuel products to increase yield and avoided paying tax on profits, allegedly working with hundreds of companies in the financial sector.

Police were executing 350 search and seizure warrants targeting individuals and companies in eight of the country’s 26 states, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, the South American giant’s financial hub.

“Investigations indicate that the sophisticated scheme devised by the criminal organisation, by laundering the proceeds of crime, generated significant profits in the fuel production chain,” the statement added.

Press reports in Brazil said the investigation involved the First Capital Command, one of the country’s most powerful gangs.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2025