Brazilian police investigate R$ 28 million betting scheme tied to MT and SP, with 56 court orders and R$ 21.4 million frozen

Police Civil in Mato Grosso is investigating a group suspected of moving more than R$ 28 million through unauthorized betting platforms between 2023 and 2025. For PSPs and high-risk merchants, the useful part is not the celebrity angle; it is the mix of unlicensed gambling, payment flow routing, account freezes, and alleged shell-company layering.

1. According to the investigation, the scheme involved 10 people and eight companies, and police carried out operations on Tuesday (18) in Sorriso, São Paulo, and São Bernardo do Campo. The search and seizure actions targeted a company in each location, with the broader case centered on suspected illegal gambling, illegal betting solicitation, money laundering, tax evasion, and criminal organization.
2. Police say they are enforcing 56 court orders in total, including search and seizure warrants, freezing of funds and social media accounts, asset seizure, telematic data breach orders, and other measures ordered by the court. More than R$ 21.4 million in bank accounts was frozen, and passports were also seized.
3. One of the targets is digital influencer Natiele Aparecida, who is described in the report as a former cover model for Sexy magazine and a resident of Sorriso (MT). The investigation says she used two accounts to promote unauthorized gambling platforms and maintained a WhatsApp group with another suspect to share links and betting instructions.
4. The report says some of the money passed through companies linked to betting platforms and was then distributed to relatives and collaborators of the influencer. Companies named in the investigation include Cash Pay Meios de Pagamento Ltda., All Bet Entretenimento Ltda., Bytech Ltda., and HKP Pay Pagamentos.
5. Police also suspect that some companies were created or used to make it harder to identify the source of funds, and that there may have been simulated corporate ownership structures in beauty-sector companies. The Civil Police says the investigation is still ongoing to clarify each participant’s role and the origin and destination of the funds.

The case also intersects with a federal police operation: a financial-sector company under separate PF scrutiny was reportedly hit by measures in São Paulo as part of Operação Engodo Digital, including search and seizure, asset and value seizure, and passport confiscation.