April 9 saw the launch of an operation in São Paulo against the PCC, Brazil’s largest criminal organization. A lengthy preliminary investigation identified two bus companies suspected of being infiltrated by the PCC in order to launder organized crime money.
Operation End of the Line took place on April 9 in the context of suspected money laundering for the criminal organization First Commando of the Capital (PCC). This is the largest operation against this group in São Paulo.
End of the Line was carried out by the Special Action Group against Organized Crime (GAECO) of the São Paulo Public Ministry (MPSP), following a 4‑year preliminary investigation.
It resulted in the seizure of 11 weapons, 813 rounds of ammunition, as well as hard disks and USB keys, not to mention hundreds of thousands of reals and even gold bars.
Among the 6 people arrested were the directors of UpBus and Transwolff, suspected of being part of the PCC, which had founded or financed them in order to bid on public tenders to launder money and embezzle public funds.
In 2023 alone, the two bus companies received more than 843 million reals (150 million euros) from the city of São Paulo to operate bus routes in the southern and eastern zones of the city. These lines, now operated by a public service, carry 700,000 passengers a day, equivalent to 10% of public transportation traffic.
For decades, transport companies have been suspected of being linked to the PPC. The prosecutor in the case, Lincoln Gakiya, said that other bus companies were also under investigation.
“The PCC today has all of the requirements of a mafia. I’ll mention some of them: transnational operations, formatting as if it were a company […] and we unfortunately have the infiltration of public powers […] Organized Crime finances campaigns for councilors to mayors because it is in the municipalities where they obtain the concession of services” says Lincoln Gakiya.
To defy the law, several schemes are said to have been used. One of them allegedly involved the use of “oranges”: individuals affiliated with the PCC buying shares in the company to discreetly increase the faction’s stake in the business.
By withdrawing tax-free dividends, even in years of deficit, the PCC was able to launder around 54 million reals (almost 10 million euros) from drug trafficking, according to an MPSP estimate.
Shell companies linked to transport companies were also used to enable PCC members to buy villas well below their estimated value.
As a result, the tax courts dismissed 15 UpBus shareholders and 6 members of Transwolff’s management.
The head of UpBus, nicknamed Pandora, was already suspected of having financed a multi-million dollar plot to free an incarcerated person, as the prison environment is notoriously controlled by the First Commando of São Paulo.
An arrest warrant has been issued for a PCC leader who has been on the run for 10 years. Nicknamed Cebola, he is responsible for the logistics of cocaine shipments, the main economic activity of Brazil’s largest faction. The PCC is a major player in international drug trafficking, especially in Brazil’s neighboring countries.
With its stronghold on government enterprises, Brazil’s criminal organizations have been compared to the Italian mafia of the 80s by the head of the Italian police, the prosecutor in the case reported.
