Criminal factions used 31 influencers to launder R$ 7 billion across five Brazilian states

PCC and CV are accused of recruiting social media creators into illegal online betting and shell-company laundering, according to an exclusive investigation by Veja. For high-risk PSPs, the important bit is not the influencer drama; it is the payment flow: offshore betting fronts, banks, fintechs, nominees, crypto, and companies used to make criminal money look spendable.

1. The investigation names 31 influencers operating in at least five Brazilian states: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, and Rio Grande do Sul. Together, they have 149 million followers and are suspected of moving R$ 7 billion in transactions intended to give illicit money a legal appearance, based on data gathered from the Civil Police and local Public Prosecutor’s Offices.
2. The scheme reportedly ran over the last five years and relied heavily on illegal online betting houses operating without authorization from the Ministry of Justice, usually with registered addresses abroad. The influencers acted as the public face of these fake platforms, posting luxury goods, imported cars, jewelry, and travel to pull in bettors.
3. The money collected through the betting sites was then routed back to the factions through banks, fintechs, nominees, shell companies, and cryptocurrencies. According to the report, the profits from the nonexistent bets were typically split 50/50 with the influencers.
4. Ricardo Morishita Wada, secretary for consumer affairs at the Ministry of Justice, said: “Illegal betting houses are priority zero in the hunt for these influencers’ activities.” That is a fairly direct way of saying the state sees betting as the front door, not a side issue.
5. The case of Vanessa Freires shows the operating pattern. Before being banned from social media by a court, she had 100,000 followers, displayed stacks of cash presented as betting winnings, and is alleged to have moved R$ 500,000 for CV. Investigators also point to a clothing and accessories store registered in her name as a possible additional laundering vehicle; she also appeared as a beneficiary of Brazil’s emergency aid for low-income people.

The report says influencers rarely deal directly with faction leaders. Instead, a chain of intermediaries recruits creators, especially those already promoting online betting at live events or through direct outreach. One named example is Micael dos Santos de Morais, owner of the MS agency and a target in Operation Desfortuna, who was recruiting betting-focused creators at a pace that drew investigators’ attention.