Brazilian payment system PayBrokers suspected of money laundering
According to the latest Brazilian news, on September 4, 2024, the active phase of an investigation into potential money laundering from illegal iGaming operations in the state of Paraná, Brazil, was launched. Two directors of the company are suspects in the case and are currently wanted by the authorities.
PayBrokers is a fairly large payment system that has been operating extensively in Brazilian market for a long time. The company is actually a part of consortium managing the lotteries of the state of Paraná (Lottopar). At the current stage of the investigation, it is clear that payment system is suspected of collusion and criminal activity aimed at legalizing the funds of iGaming operators who do not have licenses in the country. At the same time, payment system also serviced completely legal operators. This allowed the presence of unauthorized projects to be concealed, as they were presented under the guise of other brands that were duly authorized. Overall, we cannot say that this is a new scheme for high-risk processing. Interestingly, Lottopar itself is not mentioned in the investigation, only PayBrokers.
The case documents and Brazilian news sources emphasize that between 2022 and 2023, a company called "Sports Entretenimento e Promocao de Eventos Esportivos Ltda" received more than 19 million BRL and transferred these funds to three other companies, including PayBrokers, which received the largest share, amounting to 10 million BRL. The court believes that in this case, there is an entire group involved, and all participants were well aware of what they were doing.
During the investigation, a lawyer and influencer, Deolane Bezerra, was arrested, but it is unclear what her exact connection to the case is. It is likely related to her activities as an influencer. Additionally, 19 arrest warrants are currently being executed. The targets of these warrants from the payment system PayBrokers include the current partner of the company, Edson Antônio Lenzi Filho, and the former partner, Thiago Heitor Presser. It is reported that Edson is still at large and, according to comments from the payment system, is on a business trip, while Presser was arrested with a large sum of cash.
PayBrokers also commented on the situation, stating that they have always operated within the law and are cooperating with the authorities right now, providing the necessary documents on the merchants who are the targets of the investigation. More news in Mono Talks or our Telegram channel.
