Operation against R$3.8 billion in ICMS fraud targets economic groups with lawyers in SP and PR The Interinstitutional Asset Recovery Committee (CIRA-SP) carried out this Wednesday (15) an operation against the sale of false ICMS credits. In Campinas (SP), agents carried out 10 search and seizure warrants at a luxury condominium and law offices. No one was arrested, and a person who was being investigated in the metropolis was located in Botucatu (SP), where his cell phone was seized. According to information gathered by EPTV, a TV Globo affiliate, documents and other electronic documents were also collected in the city. The action is carried out by the State Treasury and Planning Secretariat together with the Public Ministry and the State Attorney General's Office, with support from the Civil and Military Police. Warrants were also served in other cities in São Paulo and Paraná. The suspicion is that the scheme caused a loss of R$3.8 billion to public coffers. The case is treated as a possible action by a criminal organization focused on tax fraud and corruption (understand the details below). ? Click here to follow the g1 Campinas channel on WhatsApp Among the groups investigated is an economic group linked to lawyer Nelson Wilians, whose office is the target of searches. Anne Wilians, Nelson's wife, lawyer and partner, is also among the targets. In Londrina (PR), lawyer Mayra de Paula, who according to the investigation is Wilians' “partner” in fraud, is also being investigated. g1 contacted Nelson Wilians and his office and is awaiting a response. We also sought contact with Mayra de Paula's defense. The action, called Operation Distrato, does not have targets with arrest warrants, but complies with 38 search and seizure warrants issued by the 1st Court of Tax Crimes, Criminal Organization and Laundering of Assets and Valuables of the Capital, in the cities of São Paulo, Campinas, Jundiaí, Ribeirão Preto, Londrina (PR) and Cambé (PR). READ ALSO: Who is Nelson Wilians, the lawyer targeted by an operation involving a scheme that allegedly evaded R$3.8 billion in ICMS Lawyer from Paraná is the target of an operation against fraud involving more than R$3 billion in ICMS How the scheme worked Lawyer Nelson Wilians during Operation Distrato, who searches his office Disclosure/SP Treasury Department 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 and the companies ended up being fined. They then simulated screens to show that the fines had been paid, which was also false. To give credibility, the lawyer arrived at appointments by helicopter and imported cars. The Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) is the main source of revenue for state governments. It is a state tax that is levied on the sale of products, the provision of interstate and intercity transport services, and communications. Law firms, consultancies and intermediaries participated in the scheme, according to the investigation. They prospected clients, created contracts and prepared legal opinions to justify the operation before the tax authorities. In addition to the nucleus linked to the Nelson Wilians Group, the investigation also targets agents from the Alpha and Dmc groups. To justify the origin of the credits, those investigated alleged, for example, supposed rights of bankrupt estates or old judicial decisions of expropriation. To forge the appearance of legality, the organization resorted to practices such as: improper use of administrative rules or judicial decisions without finality to justify the credits; presentation of orders that would be false, attributed to tax auditors who did not sign them; sale of credits with no real relationship with ICMS, linked to companies with no activity; use of simulated "assignments" or "management" to formalize the illicit business. CIRA/SP opened 874 Tax Service Orders to analyze around 9,960 suspicious entries, involving more than 850 companies. The committee states that the investigation separates those who acted consciously with illicit profit from those who may have been deceived in good faith. The Treasury Department has already carried out tax checks that culminated in the issuing of tax assessment notices for 752 companies. SP government operation targets scheme that would have withheld R$3.8 billion in tax credits Disclosure/SP Finance Department VIDEOS: Everything about Campinas and the Region See more news about the region on the g1 Campinas page.