Brazilian prosecutors and federal police launched a sweeping operation on 13 February aimed at a suspected money‑laundering network tied to Chinese‑run businesses. Authorities say the scheme moved more than 1 billion reais — roughly US$190 million — over about seven months, using what appeared to be a legitimate electronics distribution and online retail setup operating under the Knup Brasil name.
Officials describe a business that looked ordinary on the surface: an expansive retail and distribution system for imported consumer electronics. But investigators allege that this commercial façade served to turn illicit cash into seemingly normal retail revenue. Months of financial forensics and coordinated probes preceded the raids, as teams followed invoice trails, bank transfers and e‑commerce records.
According to charging documents, the operation relied on several layered techniques. Large volumes of low‑value sales were recorded and inventory shuffled between related companies to weave a convincing paper trail. Payments were broken into many small transfers and routed through multiple accounts — classic “smurfing” by another name — to try to slip under the radar of routine monitoring systems.
Prosecutors say a network of shell companies and middlemen played a key role, issuing invoices and receiving payments while masking who ultimately benefited. That corporate shell game made it harder to trace ownership and the original source of funds. At the same time, Knup Brasil’s online storefront allegedly blended real customer orders with fictitious or inflated transactions, commingling clean and suspect money in the same accounts and complicating bank audits.
Investigators further assert that proceeds did not simply stop at the retail level. Instead, funds were funneled upward into centralized accounts controlled by higher‑level actors. Prosecutors point to ties with organized crime, including links to the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), suggesting the network may have been part of a broader criminal ecosystem rather than an isolated fraud.
The operation underscores how modern money‑laundering schemes increasingly exploit legitimate trade and digital platforms. Authorities say the current actions are the result of painstaking financial analysis and cross‑agency cooperation; further arrests and asset freezes could follow as the investigation continues.