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Brazil Arrests Two After US Sanctions $30M Crypto Laundering Ring
OFAC designated two individuals and four companies for laundering drug proceeds for the PCC cartel. Brazilian police executed warrants. The $30M network used crypto and trade-based methods.
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Brazilian Federal Police executed arrest warrants and property searches Thursday against two individuals the U.S. Treasury sanctioned for laundering over $30 million in drug proceeds through cryptocurrency. The action targets Victor Henrique de Oliveira Shimada and Stella Stefanie Nunes Henrique de Oliveira, known by aliases "Japa" and "Lara Croft."
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the pair on July 1, along with four companies alleged to be part of the laundering infrastructure: Brazilian firms Victory Trading, Pixwave Soluções e Pagamentos, and Wave Construções Inteligentes, plus a Portuguese entity called Owens Avenadas. The sanctions fall under authorities targeting drug trafficking and terrorism financing.
The Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, was designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the U.S. in May 2026. The laundering network allegedly combined crypto transactions with trade-based methods, using inflated or deflated invoices on real goods to move value across borders.