Operation Bóreas Executes 12 Raids in Tax Evasion Case Targeting Air‑Conditioning Retailers

Overview

• Brazil’s CIRA‑SP task force, with the Federal Revenue Service, state finance officials, prosecutors and police, carried out 12 search warrants on October 30 in São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro.
• Investigators say the targeted group amassed R$961 million in unpaid taxes, including about R$268 million in federal liabilities and roughly R$693 million in ICMS.
• PGFN and PGE‑SP have filed civil actions to block more than R$800 million in assets such as real estate and vehicles, and reports indicate over R$200 million in financial assets were also frozen.
• The probe focuses on PoloAr and Uniar (formerly STR), described as part of a multigenerational family network using holding companies to shield wealth; the companies did not provide comment.
• Authorities detail a scheme involving fraudulent corporate succession, a shift of operations to Minas Gerais that left about R$250 million in ICMS unpaid, and the transfer of the original firm to Palmas under straw owners with alleged fake accounting.