By Brazil Stock Guide – A São Paulo court has frozen R$176 million linked to an investment fund administered by Banco Genial, drawing one of Brazil’s best-known financial firms into the outer perimeter of a sprawling probe into alleged tax fraud, money laundering and organized crime in the fuel industry.
The case, first reported by UOL, stems from Operação Carbono Oculto, an investigation into how criminal groups allegedly used fuel distributors, gas stations, payment accounts and investment vehicles to move money and evade taxes. Prosecutors in São Paulo are seeking to recover about R$7.6 billion in unpaid ICMS, Brazil’s state-level value-added tax on goods and services.
The frozen amount is tied to the Radford investment fund, administered by Genial. Investigators say the structure received money connected to Usina Itajobi, a sugar-and-ethanol mill linked to the business network under scrutiny. The alleged scheme also involved fuel distributors Áster and Copape, controlled by businessmen Mohamad Hussein Mourad, known as “Primo,” and Roberto Augusto Leme da Silva, known as “Beto Louco.”
Genial says it is not under investigation and acted only as fiduciary administrator of a specific fund. The bank also says the blocked assets involve ordinary market structures, including credit instruments, and that the court measure has no operational impact on its business or clients.
The Carbono Oculto probe is no longer just about fuel stations and tax evasion. It is now testing how money allegedly linked to criminal activity can move through formal financial-market products before regulators, prosecutors and courts catch up.
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