STF Orders Federal Police to Probe Money Laundering and State Infiltration by Rio Crime Groups

Overview

• Justice Alexandre de Moraes directed a macro investigation focused on laundering schemes tied to factions and milícias and on the infiltration of criminal networks into public bodies in Rio de Janeiro.
• Moraes said the priority is dismantling financial structures as a prerequisite for reducing violence and retaking areas dominated by organized crime.
• He requisitioned images from recent operations to check for possible excessive force and stated the court will follow the probes into deaths from Operation Contenção, which left more than 120 people dead.
• Moraes called for an independent forensic service, criticizing the subordination of Rio’s Polícia Técnico-Científica to the Civil Police, and urged stronger external oversight by the Ministério Público.
• Acting as temporary rapporteur in the ADPF das Favelas, Moraes held a closed-door hearing with civil society groups, where participants reported concern over shifting state justifications for the operation and the lack of a long-term security strategy.