Organized crime, policing, public-safety policy and cross-border enforcement.
Brazil’s Federal Police launched the first overt phase of Operation Lava Jato on March 17, 2014. Initially focused on suspected money laundering and illegal foreign-exchange activity, the inquiry later expanded into allegations involving Petrobras, major contractors and political figures. Its legacy remains significant, but legal outcomes varied case by case.
Brazil’s Federal Police searched premises in Rio de Janeiro on January 23, 2026, in an investigation into roughly R$970 million invested by the state pension authority Rioprevidência in Banco Master financial notes. No charges or findings of guilt have been announced.
Brazil’s Federal Police and Comptroller-General have launched Operation Legado, an investigation into suspected fraud in municipal procurement, particularly health-related contracts. Court-approved searches were carried out across five states and the Federal District.
Brazilian authorities executed 39 search-and-seizure warrants across six states in an investigation into 172 temporary-disability benefits suspected of causing about R$6.5 million in public losses.
Brazil Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino has ordered the Federal Police to investigate possible crimes and improper interference connected to the securities regulator’s handling of matters involving Banco Master and Master-linked funds.
Brazil’s Federal Police say they seized 44 firearms, cash and checks while investigating alleged false information used to obtain or retain civilian firearms registrations in Bahia. The case remains at the investigation stage.
Brazil’s Federal Police and environmental agency Ibama reported destroying 22 dredges and five support vessels during an operation targeting illegal gold extraction on the Madeira River in Amazonas. No arrests or criminal charges were announced.
Federal Police seized about R$1.85 million in Amapá while investigating allegations that welfare benefits and food baskets were tied to political support. Seven people are under investigation; no arrests were reported.
Brazil’s Federal Police executed a search warrant in metropolitan Goiânia two days before the 2026 general election as part of an investigation into suspected electoral corruption and possible vote-buying. Authorities announced no arrests, charges or findings of guilt.
Brazil’s Federal Police have launched Operation Lastro in Paraíba state to investigate suspected irregular campaign financing. The inquiry remains confidential, and no charges, trial or conviction have been documented.
Brazil’s Federal Police said it had opened 1,224 new inquiries into alleged electoral crimes in 2026 through October 1, alongside 94 active inquiries involving political violence against women. The figures are preliminary investigative totals, not findings of guilt.
Brazil’s Federal Police executed 19 Electoral Justice-authorized search warrants in Ceará during an investigation into suspected payments for political and electoral support. Authorities are examining financial flows exceeding R$9.8 million, while stressing that the inquiry has not established criminal liability.
Brazil’s Federal Police carried out two searches in a confidential, preventive inquiry into alleged plans that could endanger U.S. diplomatic facilities. The force said it had not corroborated the reported risks or identified suspects linked to criminal organizations.
Brazil’s Federal Police said that, by 11:30 a.m. on October 4, 2026, it had opened five inquiries into suspected electoral crimes and recorded R$769,278.50 in preliminary seizures. The figures were later superseded by higher totals and do not establish guilt.
Brazil’s Federal Police reported preliminary election-day enforcement figures on October 4, including 194 people taken in and R$1.83 million in assets and cash seized. The cases remain under investigation and the figures do not establish guilt.
Brazil’s Federal Police executed two warrants in a confidential investigation into alleged risks to U.S. diplomatic facilities. The force says evidence collected so far shows no concrete plan or effective risk, while seized devices remain under analysis.
Brazilian federal police and Rio de Janeiro prosecutors launched Operation Magen on October 7, seeking arrests and searches in a case that has led to charges against 10 people. Authorities allege a network involving serving and former security officers sold weapons, disclosed restricted information and laundered money. No convictions have been reported.
São Paulo’s comptroller-general and Civil Police are investigating suspected irregular withdrawals of somatropin from a public specialized pharmacy in Santo André. The inquiry remains at an investigative stage, and the Health Secretariat says patient treatment was not interrupted.
Brazil’s Federal Police have opened an investigation into whether judicial decisions may have favored real-estate and construction companies, with alleged benefits reaching a magistrate’s family. The case remains at the investigative stage, with no finding of wrongdoing.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court and Federal Police discussed how material related to the Banco Master investigations should be handled if it contains references to Supreme Court justices. The meeting established a procedural route, not evidence of wrongdoing by any justice or other person.
Brazil’s Federal Police, federal auditors and prosecutors have opened an investigation into suspected irregularities in health-unit management contracts in the northeastern municipality of Nossa Senhora do Socorro. Authorities estimate potential public losses at R$15.6 million, an amount that has not been established by a final court ruling.
Brazil’s Federal Police and federal comptroller launched an investigation into the alleged diversion and sale of 122 vehicles transferred from public agencies to a civil-society organization. Authorities estimate a potential R$4.4 million loss, while stressing the case remains at the investigative stage.
Mato Grosso Civil Police have launched Operation Legado, an investigation into suspected money laundering connected to possible wrongdoing in contracts from the previous administration of Nossa Senhora do Livramento. A court ordered asset freezes and other measures, while the allegations remain unproven.
Brazil’s Federal Police said an operation with environmental agency Ibama personnel rendered 15 dredges inoperative on the Madeira River in Rondônia, in an investigation into alleged illegal mineral extraction.
A Supreme Federal Court justice ordered the preventive detention of six people in a Rio de Janeiro investigation into alleged organized crime, money laundering and links to a fuel-station network. The detentions were maintained after custody hearings; the case remains under investigation.
Brazil’s Federal Police arrested six people in the latest phase of an investigation into suspected protection for an alleged money-laundering network operating through fuel stations in metropolitan Rio de Janeiro. Investigators said a financial-intelligence report identified more than R$7.6 billion in movements over six years, a figure that does not establish criminal proceeds or losses.
Brazil’s Federal Police said its final October 4 election-operation tally included 49 inquiries, 100 summary-offense reports and R$2.85 million in seized property and funds. The figures concern suspected offenses and do not establish guilt.
Brazilian Federal Police and the Federal Revenue Service carried out searches in two cities in Ceará state as part of an investigation into suspected unauthorized sales of weight-loss medicines and possible customs offenses.
Brazil’s Federal Police said it disabled 15 dredges and related equipment during a joint operation with Ibama on the Madeira River in Rondônia. The action remains at the investigation stage, with no arrests, charges or final findings of liability announced.
Brazil’s Federal Police executed 13 search-and-seizure warrants in Rio de Janeiro as part of an investigation into possible fraud in a March 2026 public examination held by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil’s top electoral court unanimously ordered the Liberal Party to remove an Instagram video that used AI-generated imagery to depict President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a fictitious prison encounter and associate him with organized crime.
Brazil’s Federal Police arrested Rio de Janeiro state deputy Márcio Canella and former Civil Police chief Marcus Vinicius Amim Fernandes as part of an investigation into a suspected criminal organization. The case remains at the investigative stage, with no charges, trial or convictions identified.
Brazil’s Federal Police said it had opened 1,538 electoral-crime inquiries in 2026 as of October 21, alongside 89 operations and R$51.6 million in reported seizures, before the October 25 runoff.
Brazil’s Federal Police will open a Supreme Court-supervised inquiry into allegations of foreign interference involving Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign. The order does not establish that foreign support reached the campaign or that any crime occurred.
Brazilian federal police and the federal comptroller have opened an investigation into suspected fraudulent access to fishing-benefit payments in Maranhão. Authorities executed 35 warrants, obtained asset-blocking orders of about R$400 million and estimate the alleged scheme could have caused R$10 billion in losses over five years if it had continued.
Brazil’s Federal Police will investigate possible foreign resources, overseas-paid election content, platform conduct and links to interests in critical minerals under an order by Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino. The court said the allegations warrant scrutiny but do not establish wrongdoing.
Brazil’s Federal Police executed four Supreme Federal Court-authorized search warrants in Rio de Janeiro in the ninth phase of Operation Unha e Carne. The inquiry is examining suspected laundering and asset-concealment structures; no guilt has been established.
Brazil’s Federal Police have arrested six people and searched 26 locations in an investigation into suspected irregularities involving contracts and payments at Mato Grosso’s state audit court. The inquiry is at a preliminary stage and no charges or findings of guilt have been identified.
Brazil’s Federal Police and federal comptroller have searched premises in Goiás and Mato Grosso over suspected irregularities in federally funded engineering contracts in Aragarças. No charges, arrests or convictions have been announced.
Brazil’s Federal Police has inaugurated a forensic geochemistry laboratory intended to compare seized gold with reference data from mineral deposits, supporting investigations into illegal mining and related environmental crimes.
Brazil’s Federal Police and Paraguay’s SENAD have begun the 59th phase of Operation Nova Aliança, a bilateral campaign targeting illicit cannabis crops and drug-production infrastructure. Early operations in Paraguay’s Canindeyú department reportedly removed more than 48 tonnes of marijuana.