Brazil probes fintech A55 over illegal bets

A police operation in Brazil’s Federal District and five other states reached A55 Sociedade de Crédito, a São Paulo fintech authorized by the Central Bank as a direct credit company. The investigation focuses on illegal betting firms that allegedly used shell companies to move money, as well as accounts that investigators say were tied to the scheme.

What is police investigating in this case?

Police are investigating illegal betting operations that allegedly used shell companies to move funds and, according to the probe, relied on a Central Bank-authorized fintech. SBT News reported that investigators identified a São Paulo entity that held accounts used by companies suspected of taking part in the scheme.

Agência Brasil added that, according to investigators, funds from illegal betting were sent to A55 Sociedade de Crédito Direto and that the fintech allegedly moved about R$1 billion in transactions linked to the case. That figure was attributed to investigators, not to a final judicial finding.

What measures did the court order?

The court ordered the blocking of accounts and assets belonging to 64 individuals and 120 companies, up to a limit of R$3.483 billion, as well as assets held at institutions supervised by the Central Bank and the CVM. Valor clarified that this amount is the judicial ceiling for the freeze, not necessarily losses or money proven to have been laundered.

How did the investigation begin?

The investigation began five months earlier after communications from the Ministry of Finance’s Prize and Betting Secretariat to police in the Federal District. Tribuna do Norte reported that the measures reached A55, two companies in the same group, and their executives.

RedeTV! also reported that Ministry of Finance simulations showed Pix payments ending up in A55 accounts and that the platform recorded frequent changes in authorized representatives. That information is part of the police investigation and not a closed judicial conclusion.

What other angle appeared in the coverage?

Brazilian coverage, citing information attributed to private companies, reported more than 3.6 million faces with restrictions in Brazil, linked to attempts at identity fraud. The same reporting described the use of images and personal data to try to open bank accounts in other people’s names, although that figure does not have a verifiable official confirmation in the material provided.