Diego Lameiro Diz (on the left) is appointed by the Federal Police as the financial operator of the group led by Victor Shimada (right.) Reproduction Diego Lameiro Diz is appointed by the Federal Police as the financial operator and responsible for supporting the money laundering of the group led by Victor Henrique de Oliveira Shimada, who is also the target of sanctions imposed by the United States on suspicion of involvement with the First Command of the Capital. The two were considered fugitives until the last update of this report. According to g1, Diego is 40 years old and is from Santos, on the coast of São Paulo. He was identified by North American authorities and caught the attention of the PF based on messages exchanged with Shimada about the garlic production he works in Mendoza, Argentina (see below). ? Click here to follow the new g1 Santos channel on WhatsApp. The Federal Police launched Operation Exchange on Friday (3), with the aim of dismantling a criminal organization specialized in laundering money from international drug trafficking. Diego, Shimada and nine other people were among the targets. Victor Shimada is a fugitive from justice and the PF targets a group sanctioned by the USA In a statement, lawyer Vítor Vitorio, who represents Diego Lameiro, informed that the person being investigated will provide all necessary clarifications in a timely manner. He highlighted that he has already presented a petition requesting access to the case files. "It is important to highlight that the investigation is still in the preliminary phase, and there is no judgment of guilt or conviction. The Federal Constitution guarantees every citizen due legal process, contradictory proceedings, full defense and, above all, the presumption of innocence", said Vitorio. The lawyer added that he is confident that the facts will be clarified and Diego's innocence will be recognized, "which is why he will not comment on the merits of the investigation at this time, out of respect for procedural secrecy and the regularity of the ongoing investigations." Who is Diego On a social network, Diego announced that he took a Logistics course at the Faculty of Technology (Fatec) Rubens Lara, in Santos, between 2004 and 2008. He also reported having started Production Engineering at a university in the city, but did not finish due to moving outside the country in 2014. On another social network, he said he works in Brazilian agribusiness and international trade, with emojis of vegetables, including a garlic. In the PF representation document sent to the Court, the corporation named Santos as a financial operator and responsible for supporting money laundering through shell companies in the United States and Brazil. The police highlighted that the man owns more than 15 companies, all of which were registered with the main activity of selling food and were incorporated in a short space of time. For example, eight of them were opened between 2023 and 2024. The report also pointed out the existence of five financial transaction communications in Diego's name, totaling R$4.47 million. Argentine garlic Still in the document, the police reported that Diego's conversations were recorded in which Shimada asked for photos and videos of the production of the garlic that Diego works with in Argentina, as he would have a meeting with a possible buyer of the product. The PF highlighted that it found numerous records of Argentine garlic entering Brazil illegally, adding that other negotiations of this product were retracted, including the sending of images and various details of the sale. The activity is suspected of being used to move resources from the criminal organization. Operation Exchange PF searches apartment of ex of Brazilian businessman target of US punishments The objective of the action, which mobilized more than 50 federal police officers, was to dismantle a criminal organization specialized in laundering money from international drug trafficking. According to the PF, a preliminary analysis made it possible to identify movements in excess of R$10 billion. During the operation, Stella Stefanie Nunes Henrique de Oliveira was arrested. She is a relative of Shimada and appointed by the American government as the intermediary in the collection of large amounts of money, providing essential logistical services for the network's laundering operations. Warrants in Santos According to the corporation, the warrants were at addresses in four cities: São Paulo, Santos, Praia Grande and Santana de Parnaíba. In Santos, the PF team was at an address in Shimada, in the Ponta da Praia neighborhood. In the high-end apartment, his ex-wife and three minor children live. His lawyer, Yuri Cruz, from the firm Marcelo Cruz Advocacia Criminal, was executing the warrant. According to him, cell phones and documents from the property were seized. Businessman's defense According to Cruz, the defense is still learning the facts. “We are going to request authorization within the procedure so that we can then actually analyze the elements that supported the decisions that determined the searches and seizures and also the temporary arrests”, he stated, in an interview with TV Tribuna, a Globo affiliate. The lawyer also said that Shimada is one of the targets of temporary arrest and should analyze the possibility of handing himself over to the police. “This also involves a personal decision, but it is another hypothesis to be evaluated”, he said. Cruz explained that the defense should try to revoke the request for temporary arrest because it understands that it is not necessary for the development of the investigations. However, any action will be taken after the lawyer has access to the investigation. "We will, of course, still meet with the client and evaluate the technical possibilities. Certainly some decisions involve a personal aspect, but after we have access to the completeness of the investigation, the motivations, the scope of the investigations, then we will adopt the technical measures that we deem pertinent", he highlighted. According to Yuri Cruz, the businessman received the sanctions from the US authorities as a surprise. “He denies both participating in a criminal organization and committing the crime of money laundering,” he concluded. Victor Henrique de Oliveira Shimada's ex-wife's apartment was the target of a search and seizure warrant in Santos (SP) Diego Bertozzi/TV Tribuna e Reproduction/Globonews US Sanctions Shimada is a partner in the companies Victory Trading Intermediação de Negócios Cobranças e Tecnologia Ltda and Avenidas Flutuantes Unipessoal Lda. He is accused by the American government of: laundering more than US$30 million (around R$156 million) in funds illicit activities generated in several US cities, using cryptocurrencies to transfer amounts back to Brazil in the name of the PCC; engaging in financial crimes other than drug money laundering. In Brazil, the businessman is being investigated on suspicion of participating in money laundering operations related to the VaideBet case, which investigates misappropriation of resources from the sponsorship contract between Corinthians and the bookmaker. When reporting the sanction, the US cited that Victory Trading, of which Shimada is a partner, was used to launder money diverted from a Brazilian football club, but did not mention the name of the black and white team in the statement. According to the USA, Victor and Stella and the three companies mentioned were part of an international PCC money laundering network, which has been investigated in Florida. Another six people accused of being part of this money laundering network were arrested in January this year in the US state, according to the statement. The sanctions were formalized by the US Treasury Department. This is the first round of economic sanctions announced by the Trump administration against targets it believes to be related to the Brazilian faction after classifying the PCC and the CV as international terrorist groups in June. VIDEOS: g1 in 1 minute Santos