Moraes Orders Federal Probe Into Crime Laundering and Public-Sector Infiltration After Rio Megaoperation

Overview

• STF minister Alexandre de Moraes directed the Federal Police to investigate laundering schemes and suspected criminal infiltration in Rio’s public bodies, requested images of the 28 October raid, and flagged the lack of autonomy of Rio’s forensic police.
• Rio security officials said upcoming actions will target gang finances, including companies used to wash money, with court-authorized arrest and search warrants.
• The government’s updated report on Operação Contenção corrected the detainee count to 99 after duplicate entries and revised weapons seized to 122, including 96 rifles, with 121 deaths confirmed.
• Federal Police executed Operation Mundemus in Rio, arresting a businessman and imposing measures on agents investigated for extortion, in a case linked to the Cash Courier probe that tracked a 2,000‑rifle pipeline from Miami.
• Follow-on actions continued in several states, including two suspects killed and a rifle seized in Simões Filho (BA), arrests tied to homicide and trafficking in Bahia and São Paulo, captures in a Fortaleza massacre case, and a Macapá suspect held after attempting to run over a detective.