SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) - The Federal Police launched Operation Véu de Maia this Monday (6) to investigate a money laundering and currency evasion scheme associated with the illegal exploitation of betting in Brazil. The target is 87 companies suspected of acting as clandestine betting rings and illegally remitting funds abroad using crypto assets.
Federal Police target 87 companies suspected of laundering money from illegal crypto bets
SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) - The Federal Police launched Operation Véu de Maia this Monday (6) to investigate a money laundering and currency evasion scheme associated with the illegal exploitation of betting in Brazil....
The government considers betting sites that have not gone through the Treasury licensing process to be clandestine. These companies do not adhere to rules of good conduct in advertising, for example, and operate without paying a fee of R$30 million to the government or collecting taxes. Nor do they respect the self-exclusion system, which prevents people registered from accessing regular bets.
The agents executed nine search and seizure warrants and carried out searches in Aparecida de Goiânia and Goiânia (GO), São Paulo and Ribeirão Preto (SP), and Porto Alegre and Canoas (RS) against the people who opened the alleged shell companies. The suspects may face charges of money laundering, currency evasion and criminal organization.
During the execution of the warrant in Canoas, the police found four unregistered weapons. Therefore, they arrested the resident of the address red-handed.
The investigations began after information sent by the Prizes and Betting Secretariat (SPA) of the Ministry of Finance. Evidence of irregular betting exploitation was identified in May 2025, when the information was forwarded to the competent bodies.
"At the same time, in the exercise of its regulatory responsibilities, we requested the blocking of the electronic domains then identified", said the Treasury in a note. The department did not identify which clandestine brands were.
According to the Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, there are around 300 operators behind the almost 50,000 illegal websites already taken down, which used 37 financial institutions to make payments.
The suspects may face charges of money laundering, currency evasion and criminal organization.
Competition from illegal betting and prediction markets is the main topic of discussion between the betting sector and the government.
According to calculations by H2 Gambling Capital, based on information from the Central Bank on remittances abroad, movement of cryptocurrencies and internet traffic, the underground market had a turnover of R$16.3 billion in 2025.
The betting industry claims that this underground market is even bigger. A study by the consultancy LCA, commissioned by IBJR (Brazilian Institute of Responsible Gaming), estimates that illegal betting represented somewhere around 41% to 51% of the total market. In this scenario, the value of the illicit operation would be between R$26 billion and R$39 billion.
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Source: Noticias ao Minuto - Ultima Hora
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