Brazil’s Federal Police on Monday broke up a band accused of laundering some 10 billion reais (about $4.35 billion) in illegally-earned funds in an operation that mobilized some 400 agents in seven different Brazilian states, authorities said.
The operation, dubbed “Lava-jato,” was aimed at capturing 28 members of the group, the majority of whom were arrested Monday morning, charged with being part of a money-laundering network, tax evasion, corruption, smuggling precious stones and drug trafficking, among other crimes.
The amount of funds moved by the criminal group was calculated by Federal Police with the help of the Financial Activities Monitoring Council, or Coaf, the entity responsible for keeping an eye out for suspicious operations in the Brazilian financial system.
The members of the network are accused of using laundromats and gas stations as fronts for offering clandestine money exchange services and sending funds abroad.
Detailed news link: click here
Original press release from Delegacias de Polícia Federal (in Portugese): click here ( translated in English: click here)
Link to the audio for Press conference: click here