Nelson Wilians' office issued notes totaling R$37 million to a shell company in Curaçao, points out PF

Lawyer Nelson Wilians is target of PF operation Lawyer Nelson Wilians' office issued notes totaling R$37.8 million to a shell company based in Curaçao, in the Caribbean, in a money laundering scheme involving online gambling and currency evasion, according to an investigation by the Federal Police. Nelson Wilians was one of the 17 search and seizure targets of Operation Arena, launched this Thursday (13). The operation investigates a business group in the Northeast suspected of using corporate and financial structures abroad to hide the origin and destination of resources from the exploitation of gambling and sports betting. The amount would have been paid to the office by PixStar, identified by investigators as a fictitious company used to give a legal appearance to the movement of resources. According to the investigation, the invoices did not specifically specify the services that would have been provided. They were issued as the need arose to justify the entry of the amounts into Brazil and “form cash”, according to the investigators. In total, the 15 invoices identified by the PF total R$37,824,000. Nelson Wilians' office appears, according to the investigation, as one of the main beneficiaries of the transactions involving PixStar. How the alleged PixBet Arte/G1 money laundering scheme worked For the PF, the notes served to justify the entry of millionaire sums into Brazil under the guise of payments for legal services. The suspicion is that the amounts were related to the gambling and sports betting activities investigated by the operation. According to the investigation, PixStar was used as a “ruse” to support the narrative that betting activity was carried out outside Brazil before this type of operation was legally authorized in the country. ? Wilians owns one of the largest corporate law firms in Brazil and has 1.4 million followers on a social network. In September last year, he had also been targeted by the PF for alleged participation in an INSS fraud and embezzlement scheme. Lawyer Nelson Wilians testifies to the CPMI of the INSS WILTON JUNIOR/ESTADÃO CONTENT Operation Arena The operation was authorized by the Federal Court of Paraíba and also determined the breach of banking and telematic secrecy of those under investigation and the kidnapping of up to R$1.1 billion. In total, 17 search and seizure warrants were issued in the states of Paraíba, São Paulo, Sergipe, Rio de Janeiro and Paraná. The main target of the investigation is PixBet, a company from Paraíba. According to the PF, payments were identified between PixBet and PixStar, based in Curaçao. Nelson Wilians is suspected of acting as a financial operator for the group under investigation and of hiding assets that had been obtained illegally, according to the investigation. Those investigated may respond, to the extent of their responsibilities, for crimes such as currency evasion and money laundering, in addition to other crimes against the national financial system. Lawyer Nelson Wilians has more than 1.4 million followers on Instagram and has one of the largest law firms in Latin America. Reproduction/Social Media Nelson Wilians' defense stated that the relationship between the firm and PixBet is “strictly professional” and arises from the provision of legal services. According to lawyer Santiago Schunck, who represents Wilians, the firm's activities are limited to the regular practice of law and are not to be confused with the clients' business activities. "The firm's actions on behalf of its clients are limited to the regular practice of law, not to be confused with the business activities carried out by them. The firm repudiates any attempt to associate the professional performance of its lawyers with the activities or conduct attributed to its clients", he stated. "Care must be taken to ensure that the legitimate practice of law is not unduly criminalized due to the nature or activities of those the lawyer represents," the note added. g1 tries to contact the defense of the others involved. PF operation on money laundering complies with warrants in 5 states ICMS fraud in SP On July 15, the Interinstitutional Asset Recovery Committee (CIRA/SP) launched an operation against an organization investigated for allegedly selling false ICMS credits to unduly reduce the tax owed to the state. The scheme would have withheld R$3.8 billion in tax credits. One of the main nuclei of the investigated group is linked to an economic group owned by lawyer Nelson Wilians, whose office was also the target of searches at the time. Anne Wilians, Nelson's wife, lawyer and partner, is also among the targets. As well as, in Londrina, the lawyer Mayra de Paula, who according to the investigation is Wilians' “partner” in the frauds. In a note at the time, Wilians' office reported that "the management of the aforementioned operations was the exclusive responsibility of the firm De Paula Advogados & Consultoria Jurídica, without any corporate or control link with NWADV. Upon identifying inconsistencies, the firm terminated the partnership and notified its clients" (see full note below). READ ALSO: Lawyer from Paraná is the target of an operation against fraud involving more than R$3 billion in ICMS Law firms are suspected of defrauding R$3.8 billion in ICMS credits, in SP How the scheme worked in SP According to the investigation, the organization used shell companies, inactive or without an operational structure. These companies would issue tax documents to artificially circulate ICMS credits, which would then be incorporated into taxpayers' tax records. They pretended to have tax credits to sell to companies — generally small and medium-sized ones. But, according to the investigation, the credits were false. Companies were fined. They then simulated screens to show that the fines had been paid