Brazilian officials have seized cryptos and fiat currencies worth the equivalent of $1.6 billion in a major operation against international money laundering. Operation Niflheim is named after this joint operation between the Federal Police (PF and the Federal Revenue Service. Because investigations are still unfolding, the total amount that has been frozen may possibly reach 9 billion real ($1.8 billion).
Authorities have now discovered that crime groups have laundered some 55 billion real, or $9.8 billion, over the past three years using crypto assets. The cash was moved around in a web of crypto wallets and bank accounts to recipients across China, the UAE, the United States, and Hong Kong.
Brazilian police disrupt three criminal groups
Officers said that criminal suspects were trying to send fiat and tokens to recipients in China, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Hong Kong.
And they claimed that money launderers may have used unnamed cryptoassets to “move 55 billion real [$9.8 billion]” over the past three years.
Dubbed Operation Niflheim, the joint police-tax service initiative saw officers conduct raids on businesses and personal addresses in several Brazilian states.
They also raided offices in the United States. The police did not disclose the identities of any of the companies and individuals officers are investigating.
Officers explained that they had shut down three separate groups as part of the international operation.
The PF is investigating possible connections between the three groups. They think the groups “may operate jointly.”
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Criminal Networks and Shell Companies Uncovered
The PF said 130 police officers and 20 Federal Revenue Service employees conducted the raids.
Courts issued at least eight arrest warrants and around two dozen search and confiscation warrants in Caxias do Sul, São Paulo, Fortaleza, and Brasília. They also seized multiple motor vehicles and impounded properties.
Police spokespeople said the groups began operating in 2021. They then allegedly developed complex financial operations with “several layers.”
They said the money “mainly” originated “from drug trafficking and people smuggling” networks.
And they think the “groups under investigation” used “shell companies and other tactics.” This was part of a bid to “make it difficult for the authorities” to track the funds, officers said.
The spokespeople added that the suspected leaders of the groups hailed from Caxias do Sul and Orlando, Florida.
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