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Federal Revenue Investigations Expose Unprecedented Scheme: The PCC Used Gas Stations, Fintechs, and Real Estate Funds to Launder R$ 52 Billion in Just Four Years, Affecting Consumers with Adulterated Gasoline and Large-Scale Tax Evasion
The Federal Revenue revealed on Wednesday details of one of the largest money laundering schemes ever uncovered in Brazil. The PCC used over a thousand gas stations to move R$ 52 billion between 2020 and 2024. The operation, called Hidden Carbon, also involved the use of fintechs and at least 40 investment funds to conceal assets.
According to the Federal Revenue, 42 targets were located at five addresses on Avenida Faria Lima in São Paulo, the country’s largest financial center. So far, six people have been arrested, out of a total of 14 arrest warrants issued. The Federal Police reported that some targets were not found at their addresses, raising suspicion of information leaks.
“There are indications that convenience stores and the managers of these gas stations, as well as bakeries, were also participating in the scheme,” said the Federal Revenue.
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Warrants, Billions Blocked, and Record Participation of Agents
The Hidden Carbon Operation executed search and seizure warrants against about 350 targets in eight states: São Paulo, Espírito Santo, Paraná, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Goiás, Rio de Janeiro, and Santa Catarina.
More than R$ 1 billion in assets have been blocked, an amount that will be used as collateral for tax credits. The operation mobilized around 1,400 agents, including officials from the Federal Revenue, the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-SP), the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), the Federal Police, Civil and Military Police, São Paulo’s Department of Finance and Planning (Sefaz-SP), the National Agency of Petroleum (ANP), and the State Attorney General’s Office (PGE-SP).
This mobilization reflects the scale of the scheme: a network that united fuels, digital finance, and investment funds, operating almost like a business.
Adulterated Fuels and Consumer Harm
The investigations also revealed that importers linked to the scheme were buying fuels abroad. Between 2020 and 2024, more than R$ 10 billion worth of fuels were imported, including naphtha, hydrocarbons, and diesel.
“Methanol, supposedly imported for other purposes, was diverted for use in the manufacture of adulterated gasoline, causing serious harm to consumers,” highlighted the Federal Revenue.
Furthermore, companies repeatedly evaded taxes in their operations. Federal tax credits of over R$ 8.67 billion were established for individuals and companies linked to the scheme.
This practice did not only affect public funds, but directly endangered drivers who filled up with adulterated gasoline.
Laundering at Over a Thousand Stations and Billions in Fake Invoices
According to the Federal Revenue, formulators, distributors, and gas stations were used to launder R$ 52 billion from 2020 to 2024.
Irregularities were found at over a thousand gas stations across ten states: São Paulo, Bahia, Goiás, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Minas Gerais, Maranhão, Piauí, Rio de Janeiro, and Tocantins.
Between 2020 and 2024, these stations had a turnover of R$ 52 billion, but with very low tax collection. They have already been fined over R$ 891 million. Another 140 stations received over R$ 2 billion in fuel invoices, which, according to the tax authorities, likely served to conceal illicit amounts deposited in distributors.
Fintechs Operated as Parallel Banks
Another key point revealed by the investigation was the use of fintechs. These digital financial service companies acted as “parallel banks,” moving over R$ 46 billion between 2020 and 2024.
From 2022 to 2023, there were over 10.9 thousand cash deposits, totaling R$ 61 million. According to the Federal Revenue, this procedure “is not common” and indicates an attempt to conceal illicit origins.
The Federal Revenue emphasized: “The use of fintechs by organized crime aims to take advantage of loopholes in the regulation of such institutions. These loopholes hinder the tracking of the flow of funds and the identification by oversight and regulatory bodies of the amounts moved by each fintech client in isolation.”
Investment Funds: Shielding and Million-Dollar Assets
The illicit money was also reinvested in multi-market and real estate funds. The Federal Revenue has already identified at least 40 funds, with assets of R$ 30 billion controlled by the faction.
These funds were used to acquire million-dollar assets, including:
- A port terminal;
- Four alcohol plants;
- 1,600 fuel transport trucks;
- More than a hundred properties, including six farms in São Paulo valued at R$ 31 million and a house in Trancoso (BA), purchased for R$ 13 million.
This is a sophisticated concealment structure that made it difficult to identify the actual beneficiaries.
The Silent Impact of Money Laundering in Your Daily Life
The Hidden Carbon Operation shows that organized crime does not operate only on the fringes of society. It infiltrates strategic sectors of the economy, such as fuels and finance, using gas stations, fintechs, and investment funds to create a billion-dollar parallel system.
And you, reader: do you trust the gas station where you fill up, or have you ever suspected the quality of the fuel?
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