On Tuesday, a Brazilian couple was arrested on suspicion of opening at least seven evangelical churches to launder drug money. The arrest took place in Assembly of God Church for Nations in Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil, where Brazilian police seized several mobile phones and documents to try to find out if there are still participants in this criminal scheme.
According to the Brazilian newspaper G1, Geraldo Filho and Tais Soares are suspected of being part of a group accused of laundering money from drug trafficking through the purchase of real estate, farms, animals and churches. The prosecutor’s office suspects that the criminal community has already transferred more than four million euros.
An investigation by the State Ministry shows that the leader of this illegal scheme is a man identified as Valdesi Alves dos Santos, known as “Colorido”. The deputy believes that Valdechi is the second largest leader of the criminal community that originated in the prisons of Sao Paulo and operates throughout Brazil, as well as in neighboring countries.