São Paulo Civil Police arrest 3 in online betting fraud and money laundering probe, with asset freezes up to R$ 154 million

São Paulo Civil Police detained three suspects on Tuesday (13/10) in an operation targeting a group accused of running illegal online betting platforms, committing financial fraud, and laundering money. For high-risk payment providers, the part that matters is not the headline arrest count; it is the scale of the alleged flow-through, the banking trail, and the court-authorized asset restraint that can quickly spill into PSP, acquiring, and KYC/AML reviews.

1. The operation, called Operação Disque 151, was carried out by the Department of Criminal Investigations (DEIC) through the 3rd Police District of the General Investigations Division (DIG), according to G1 São Paulo.
2. The case started with complaints filed at Fundação Procon-SP about the digital platforms involved. The DEIC said it considered about 10 million complaint records during the investigation, and police linked more than 10 million bettors and victims to the platforms under review.
3. Financial tracing identified R$ 38,5 million in monitored bank transactions. Of that amount, R$ 14,05 million had its flow traced and identified by investigators, according to the DEIC.
4. Based on the evidence collected, the court authorized asset restraint measures against six individuals and five legal entities. The maximum estimated freeze is R$ 154 million, with the aim of reaching funds and assets potentially linked to the alleged criminal activity.
5. The operation included three temporary arrest warrants and six search-and-seizure warrants. Judges also issued two banking secrecy breaches and two telecommunications secrecy breaches, which is the sort of legal toolkit that tends to turn an alleged betting case into a much broader payments and data trail review.