An operation launched by the Public Ministry of São Paulo (MP-SP) on Tuesday (09/04) targeted two organizations suspected of laundering money for the First Capital Command (PCC) through public transport in São Paulo. The scheme involved two bus companies, UPBus and Transwolff (TW), which transport almost 700,000 people per day and received almost R$800 million in remuneration from the City Hall.
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The investigation, called Operation Fim da Linha, is a task force between the MP-SP, through the Special Action Group to Combat Organized Crime (Gaeco), the Military Police, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), and the Federal Revenue Service — and this is a continuation of Operation Sharks, launched in 2020 to investigate the PCC.
How the Scheme Worked
The PCC took advantage of a change in the transport sector to interfere with public authorities and launder money from drug trafficking. In 2015, when São Paulo City Hall tried to regularize the situation of illegal buses, the faction injected resources into the then-bus cooperatives and made them competitive companies to the point of winning bids. Companies created accounting mechanisms to make losses, yet the partners earned dividends. This profit was the faction’s money.
Companies Involved
According to the MP-SP, there are 29 companies involved in the money laundering of TW and UPBus, of which the Court ordered the blocking of around R$600 million in assets to guarantee payment for collective moral damage. It also ordered SPTrans, the city’s state-owned public transport company, to take over the lines managed by the investigated companies.
Other Companies Investigated
Prosecutor Lincoln Gakiya, from the São Paulo Public Ministry, stated that companies other than Transwolff and UPBus are being investigated in the capital of São Paulo on suspicion of links to criminal organizations. According to him, the Department of Organized Crime Investigations (DEIC), of the Civil Police, is already investigating other public transport companies in the city, with support from the MP.
Mafia Outlines
Prosecutor Lincoln Gakiya also stated that the uncovered scheme raises concern and compared it to mafia schemes that have been operating for decades in Italy. The faction (PCC) has taken on the shape of a mafia, whose main characteristic is the infiltration of State institutions.
Campaign Donations
Partners and directors of one of the bus companies investigated by the MPSP for suspected links with the PCC, Transwolff, donated to politicians allied with mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) and federal deputy Guilherme Boulos (PSOL). Both are pre-candidates for mayor of São Paulo.
Luiz Carlos Efigênio Pacheco (Pandora), a Transwolff partner arrested in the operation, donated it to Antônio Donato (PT), state deputy and one of the coordinators of Boulos’ government program.
Robson Flares Lopes Pontes, one of the directors of Transwolff who was also arrested, donated R$15,000 to the DEM directory (currently União Brasil) in the last municipal election, an ally of Nunes.
Analysis:
A money laundering scheme linked to the largest criminal faction in São Paulo and the country recently came to light, revealing that the gang is involved in the city’s public transport sector. The territorial knowledge of the outskirts, familiarity with public transport, and the need to launder money from the ever-increasing profits from drug sales in Brazil, especially to Europe and Africa were elements that attracted the faction to infiltrate the public service, in the experts’ view.
It is nothing new that the criminal faction engages in business activities to launder money from drug trafficking. Since the 2000s, the group has been part of the so-called legal transport mafia. Initially, members of the leadership held management positions in public transport cooperatives in Diadema, in Greater São Paulo.
The revelation of this scheme raises concerns due to its similarity to mafia schemes active for decades in Italy, whose main characteristic is the infiltration of State powers. Security authorities also suspect that money from organized crime is used to finance political campaigns, especially in municipal elections, such as those taking place this year.
