Rio Operation Targets Money-Laundering Network for Comando Vermelho and PCC, Probes Al Qaeda Link

A joint operation by Rio de Janeiro's Civil Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office arrested ten people on Wednesday (July 15) in an investigation targeting a money-laundering network that worked for criminal organizations. Authorities executed ten arrest warrants and 37 search warrants in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Foz do Iguaçu (Paraná state), while charging 22 people with belonging to the group.

According to investigators, the scheme moved at least R$100 million ($20 million) between 2021 and 2024, providing financial services to Terceiro Comando Puro (TCP) and concealing funds for Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC). Among those targeted is a man allegedly linked to an Al Qaeda financing network who had previously been sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Police said they will further investigate that connection based on the evidence seized.

The organization allegedly used newly created shell companies to introduce illicit funds into the financial system through techniques including structured cash deposits ("smurfing"), the use of front men and the recruitment of accountants. The investigation began after authorities identified a store in the São Carlos Complex linked to the leadership of TCP that sold counterfeit goods and received stolen electronic devices.

Prosecutors identified Bárbara Luzia Souza de Carvalho as one of the network's main financial operators, along with a group of businessmen of Lebanese origin — brothers Reda, Yasser and Kassem Zayoun — suspected of expanding the flow of money through the tri-border region. Judge Alexandre Abrahão Dias Teixeira accepted the charges and ordered the freezing of the suspects' assets. Police did not say whether those arrested have legal representation.

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