At least 20 people were arrested during an operation by the Federal police (PF) in Ribeirão Preto inside of Sao Paulo which had the objective of financially dismantling a criminal organization that practiced embezzlement, a crime related to non-payment of the tax due for the entry, exit or consumption of goods.
In the action, which had about 200 federal police officers and 24 employees of the Federal Revenue Service, in addition to representatives of the Public Ministry, 45 search and seizure warrants and 36 arrest warrants were executed, 22 of which were temporary arrests and 14 preventive arrests.
During the operation, called Octupus, items that are still being accounted for, such as luxury cars, cash and jewelry, were seized. In addition, $250,000 worth of cryptocurrencies were blocked.
According to the PF, the organization irregularly brought electronic and computer products to the national territory. According to the investigations, the criminals set up shell companies or used “oranges” in order to establish a financial network parallel to the banks and, with that, move values from the irregularities.
The objective was to maintain the criminal actions and the very structure of the organization, in addition to laundering money, through commercial and business activities.
Dividends from the shares were deposited in the bank accounts of the “laranjas” and used to pay suppliers of products of foreign origin imported from China and the USA, later sent to Paraguay, arriving clandestinely in Brazil. Afterwards, the group sold the material.
Those investigated must answer for crimes against the financial system, money laundering, tax evasion, foreign exchange evasion, misrepresentation, embezzlement and criminal organization, among others found during the investigation. The penalties added so far range from 12 to 38 years in prison.
Source: CNN Brasil
