By Brazil Stock Guide – Refit — now known as Grupo Fit, operator of the fuel refinery in Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, controlled by businessman and attorney Ricardo Magro — has become the central target of a sweeping fraud probe alleging more than R$26 billion in unpaid tax liabilities. Authorities ordered the freezing of over R$10 billion in assets on Thursday (27) as part of Operation “Poço de Lobato.”
Refinery previously shut by ANP over suspected irregularities
The refinery was interdicted by Brazil’s oil regulator ANP in September, after inspectors flagged suspected operational and documentation irregularities. Federal officials have also accused the company of importing fuel and reselling it to gas stations allegedly controlled by criminal organizations, intensifying a recent public confrontation between the firm and the federal government.
Refit has consistently denied wrongdoing and rejects accusations of tax evasion. The company has not yet issued a statement regarding today’s operation.
600 agents, six states, and more than 190 targets
The new probe expands that scrutiny. Roughly 600 agents are executing search-and-seizure warrants across São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, the Federal District and Maranhão. More than 190 individuals and companies are suspected of participating in a tax-fraud organization that allegedly used front entities, simulated interstate fuel sales and multi-layered corporate structures to avoid tax payments and distort competition in the fuel sector.
Asset freezes and repeated evasions
Courts froze R$8.9 billion in state actions and another R$1.2 billion in federal measures. Investigators say the group continued to engineer new ways to bypass fiscal obligations even after being placed under special compliance regimes by tax authorities.
A concealed network behind the scheme
Authorities describe a network of operators responsible for forgeries, shell-company arrangements and layered financial structures that masked the real beneficiaries of the alleged scheme. This architecture, they say, enabled the group to grow its presence across the fuel supply chain while accumulating multibillion-real tax debts.
Historical reference
The operation is named “Poço de Lobato,” in reference to Brazil’s first oil well, discovered in Salvador in 1939 — a symbolic nod to the origins of the industry now again caught in a high-profile fraud probe.
Who is carrying out the operation
The investigation is led by the Interinstitutional Committee for Asset Recovery of São Paulo (CIRA/SP), with participation from the São Paulo State Finance Secretariat, the São Paulo Attorney General’s Office, the São Paulo Public Prosecutor’s Office, and support from Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service, the National Treasury Attorney’s Office, the São Paulo Municipal Finance Secretariat and state police forces.
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