US sanctions hit Brazilians and four companies over alleged PCC money laundering network

The US Treasury has sanctioned two Brazilians, Victor Henrique de Oliveira Shimada and Stella Stefanie Nunes Henrique de Oliveira, along with four companies, over an alleged money laundering network tied to PCC. For high-risk payment and crypto operators, the important part is not the headline itself but the mechanism: blocked property, transaction prohibitions, and the risk of secondary sanctions for foreign financial institutions that facilitate material business for the designated parties.

1. According to the US government’s announcement, all property and interests in property of the sanctioned individuals that are in the United States are blocked and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Any company owned directly or indirectly 50% or more by those sanctioned persons is also blocked.
2. The sanctions also prohibit transactions by US persons, or transactions within or transiting the United States, that involve any property or interests in property of the designated individuals. In practice, that is the part compliance teams care about first: if a payment flow touches US rails or a US person, it is in scope.
3. The companies named in the designation are Victory Trading Intermediacão De Negocios Cobrancas E Tecnologia Ltda, Pixwave Solucoes De Pagamentos Ltda, Wave Construcoes Inteligentes Ltda, and Avenidas Flutuantes Unipessoal Lda, which is based in Portugal.
4. The Treasury said foreign financial institutions that “knowingly facilitate significant transactions for the sanctioned persons” face secondary sanctions risk. That can include being prohibited from opening or maintaining correspondent or payable-through accounts in the United States, or having those accounts subject to strict conditions.
5. In the Treasury’s version of events, Victor Shimada was a “key link between PCC members in Florida and international drug traffickers,” and was accused of laundering more than US$ 30 million in illicit proceeds generated in several US cities, using cryptocurrencies to move funds back to Brazil on behalf of PCC. Stella Stefanie Nunes Henrique de Oliveira was described as his relative, secretary, and intermediary for collecting large amounts of cash and providing logistical services for the laundering operation.

The Treasury also said the PCC is the “largest transnational criminal organization in the Western Hemisphere” and a “significant threat to US national security.” It added that six other people accused of participating in the money laundering network were arrested in January this year in Florida.