Brazil's Federal Police indicted 13 people on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, wrapping up an inquiry into how the PCC crime gang allegedly moved money from adulterated fuel and tax evasion into the country's financial system. Investment funds, brokerages and fintechs sit at the center of the case. The Federal Prosecution Service (MPF) now has days to decide whether to file formal charges, order more investigation or archive the file.
The indictees face accusations of criminal organisation, money laundering and fraudulent management. No court has ruled on the merits of the police conclusions. Defense positions for the 13 weren't public when this article was published.
How the Scheme Allegedly Worked
Operação Quasar grew out of Operação Carbono Oculto, which began in August 2025. Authorities described it as the largest operation ever conducted against organized crime's infiltration of Brazil's formal economy. About 1,400 agents executed around 200 search warrants against roughly 350 targets in eight states. Among them were fund managers and companies on Avenida Faria Lima, São Paulo's financial hub.
Investigators described a chain running from fuel imports through production and distribution to gas-station sales. They said the fuel was adulterated with methanol along the way. Illicit cash then entered fintechs and investment funds, where it bought companies, property and luxury goods.
The numbers are large. In the related "Tank" investigation, police estimated that the stations they analyzed received at least R$133.8 million, about US$25.6 million, in divided deposits. Large transfers among stations belonging to different corporate groups, police said, pointed to the organization's common control.
In the Quasar phase, police said proceeds from tax evasion and fuel-sector crimes entered the financial system and moved through accounts and funds. They attributed the illegalities to the economic group formed by Aster Petróleo and Copape Produtos de Petróleo. Investigators said the structure hid the money's true owners and gave a legal appearance to assets built by organized crime. Fund companies took part in the scheme.
Who Police Named
Police said the 13 assisted a scheme managed by businessmen Mohamad Hussein Mourad, known as "Primo," and Roberto Augusto Leme da Silva, known as "Beto Louco." Both have been fugitives since 2025. They were among eight targets placed on Interpol's red diffusion list after fleeing before an August 2025 operation.
The 13 named were Artur Martins de Figueiredo, Caio Henrique Hyppolito Galvani, Camila Cristina de Moura Silva, Danilo Augusto Tonin Elena, João Carlos Falbo Mansur, João Eduardo Gomes Santiago, Luis Fernando de Almeida, Luiz Felipe Sousa Leão Volani, Marcelo Dias de Moraes, Paula Rios Borges, Ramon Pessoa Dantas, Rogério Garcia Peres and Silvano Gersztel. Police cited messages, contracts, spreadsheets, forensic accounting and bank statements that they obtained under judicial authorization.
Some indictees appeared in earlier reporting about the collapsed Banco Master. The new indictment doesn't accuse them in connection with the bank, though. Valor Econômico reported the previous year that Artur Martins de Figueiredo, a director at Prime Aviation and linked to the managers Trustee and Banvox, had been named in the infiltration investigation. João Carlos Falbo Mansur founded Reag Investimentos, a firm investigated over funds allegedly used to inflate Banco Master's assets. Those links come from earlier press investigations, not from Quasar.
Open Questions and Political Friction
Police haven't confirmed the total sums moved by those indicted. They haven't released the full list of funds and companies in the structure, nor said whether more rounds of indictments are planned.
Politics could complicate what comes next. The division between police and state-level investigations the previous year exposed a rivalry for prominence between President Lula's federal government and Governor Tarcísio de Freitas. That dispute could return as prosecutors decide how far the financial-system charges will go.
Why This Matters: The case puts a spotlight on the point where organized crime meets regulated finance. Police allege that adulterated fuel, tax evasion and layered corporate structures fed money into funds and fintechs. If that's accurate, the public pays: motorists who bought methanol-adulterated fuel and a treasury short of tax revenue. The R$133.8 million traced through just the stations analyzed suggests the scale. The MPF's coming decision will show whether public institutions can follow money through the financial system, and whether a federal-state rivalry narrows that effort. The indictees haven't been convicted, and no court has tested the police findings. Many questions about the full structure remain unanswered.