Feira FC investor Bruno Karttos targeted in crackdown on illegal betting and money laundering in Brazil

Brazil’s Gaeco special crime unit has launched Operation Aposta Suja, and Bruno Karttos, listed by Feira FC as both an investor and ambassador, is among those under scrutiny. For high-risk payments players, the interesting bit is not the football angle but the alleged flow: bets through unauthorized sites, blocked withdrawals, and laundering through crypto and offshore transfers.

1. Gaeco carried out seven search and seizure warrants in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Bahia. At Karttos’s home in a luxury condominium in Feira de Santana, Bahia, investigators reportedly found cash in foreign currencies, a tablet, a mobile phone, and two luxury vehicles.
2. According to the Bahia Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP-BA), the group operated through several betting sites without authorization from the Ministry of Finance. User deposits were allegedly routed to shell companies, while the platforms also allegedly prevented customers from withdrawing funds available in their accounts.
3. The MP-BA says the scheme also included laundering the proceeds by converting them into cryptoassets, spreading the money across multiple accounts, and sending it abroad, with the aim of reintroducing it into the formal economy.
4. Investigators also point to more than 800 suspicious financial transactions between 2022 and 2026, totaling more than R$ 1.4 billion. More than R$ 100 million was moved by just one investigated company.
5. Feira FC said it has “total confidence” in Karttos’s innocence and respects the authorities’ work. The club’s official website and its statement to ge on Thursday describe Karttos as an ambassador, while a February foundation announcement also named him as an investor alongside Neto Lima.

Karttos has 329,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts content about football and sports betting. He is also one of the founders of Mansão Green, an influencer marketing agency for betting, together with Neto Lima and Marcus Rios, CEO and president of Feira FC. Mansão Green is part of Grupo Royalty, and it bought the naming rights to the 2026 Campeonato Baiano.