Police operation Poco de Lobato, launched on Nov. 27, investigates a group of actors considered to be Brazil’s largest tax debtor, with debts exceeding R$26 billion ($4.8 billion), according to Brazilian authorities.
FRS hasn’t named any companies and individuals under investigation. In the Nov. 27 statement, the FRS said that the network used its own companies, investment funds, and offshore entities to hide and shield profits.
It announced that 126 search and seizure warrants were being executed against individuals and legal entities in five states: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, the Federal District, and Bahia.
Brazilian authorities said the group was connected to U.S. entities incorporated in Delaware, describing the jurisdiction as one that allows the creation of anonymous LLC-type companies that are not taxed locally if they do not generate income in the United States.
They added that, through this structure, such entities avoid taxation in both countries, a practice the FRS said was commonly linked to money-laundering or asset-protection schemes.
Trade Talks
Haddad said the issue may now form part of the bilateral agenda as Washington and Brasilia negotiate a broader trade pact.“We conveyed to President [Luiz Inácio] Lula [da Silva] the need to include in the negotiations, which are going well, the issue of money laundering and the illegal export of weapons to Brazil,” he told reporters on Nov. 27.
Haddad said the U.S.–Brazil partnership was essential. He added that if the two countries wanted to stop drugs from reaching markets abroad, Brazil would need to intensify its domestic crackdown on crime and prevent heavy weapons from entering.
Brazil’s request for U.S. coordination comes as both countries negotiate a tariff agreement.
Criminal Network
The group under current investigation by the Brazilian police is linked to Operation Hidden Carbon, which exposed similar schemes in August 2025.Authorities said they secured court orders blocking more than R$10.2 billion ($1.9 billion) in assets of those involved, including real estate, vehicles, and other assets, to secure tax recovery.
“Through complex financial operations, the group moved more than R$70 billion [$13 billion] in just one year,” the FRS said.
According to the FRS, the Rio de Janeiro–based group managed its own financial operations, controlled financial companies, and used international structures to shield assets.
The service added that the investigation spans every stage of the fuel supply chain, from importation to retail sales, and that the network operates across virtually the entire country.
“Public security specialists have been saying for some time that drugs are no longer the only—and perhaps no longer the most important—commodity that generates revenue for organized crime. And they point specifically to the fuel sector as the one that should receive the greatest attention from the Brazilian state,” Haddad said.
He said authorities needed to financially suffocate criminal organizations at their roots or risk merely replacing low-level operatives without changing the underlying structure.
