A Federal Police operation, with the collaboration of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA), is investigating a criminal organization of illegal betting sites and has carried out the seizure and blocking of assets worth nearly R$1 billion.
Called Operation Slots, the action took place on June 15, in the states of Espírito Santo, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Paraíba, and Sergipe.
Illegal betting sites used to move funds
The main focus of the investigation that triggered Operation Slots was the movement of billions of reais through shell companies that operated illegal betting sites.
In total, 14 search and seizure warrants were carried out, along with 2 temporary arrest warrants for influencer Thayna da Rocha Endringer and Flavio dos Santos Medina.
As disclosed by the Federal Police, 11 companies are under investigation. The group used illegal betting platforms and promoted them through digital influencers to attract bettors.
To do so, these platforms displayed seals from the Ministry of Finance’s Betting Management System (SIGAP) and even from Conar, leading users to believe they were legalized and authorized to operate in Brazil.
However, such companies were used as a front to move financial resources and launder money which, according to the investigation, originated from drug trafficking.
Holding influencers accountable
As the Federal Police has already indicated, influencers are involved in the case, since they were used to promote the illegal betting sites.
As mentioned above, one of them, Thayna da Rocha Endringer, had her pretrial detention ordered, and others also continue to be investigated.
The next step will be to determine whether the influencers were only advertising or were participating in the money laundering operation.
The case differs, in this sense, from other investigations into influencers, such as those involving Virginia and Blaze, and CazéTV, in which the focus itself is on betting advertising.
The Federal Police must also analyze all the seized material to identify who controlled the operation and the level of awareness of the participants in the scheme.
After that, a report will be sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for a possible criminal complaint to be filed. Until then, no formal complaint has been submitted to the Justice system.