Six Undisclosed Crypto Exchanges Face Police Action in Brazil

September 24, 2022

In a tax evasion and money laundering probe involving cryptocurrencies, the Brazilian Federal Police began raids on six undisclosed crypto exchanges on Thursday.

As per the official police report, the Federal Police is carrying out 101 warrants issued by a criminal court in São Paulo as part of Operation Colossus.

The operation includes two arrest warrants and 37 search and seizure warrants.

The police have ordered the freezing of nearly $238 million in assets and securities controlled by those under investigation.

Meanwhile, an undisclosed amount of virtual assets held by 28 exchanges under investigation has also been seized in the process.

The investigations started after a report conducted by Brazil's Financial Intelligence found suspicious bank activity linked to the trading of crypto assets.

The alleged crimes happened between 2017 and 2021; however, the Brazilian police claimed that these crimes are still ongoing.