{"id":95803,"date":"2025-09-19T11:13:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T14:13:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/?p=95803"},"modified":"2025-09-19T11:13:35","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T14:13:35","slug":"multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
Probe led to 15 arrests, including directors of National Mining Agency, over allegations of forged environmental permits<\/em><\/strong><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

09\/19\/2025<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

The Federal Police (PF) arrested Caio M\u00e1rio Trivellato Seabra Filho and Guilherme Santana Lopes Gomes, directors of the National Mining Agency (ANM), and Leandro C\u00e9sar Ferreira de Carvalho, a regional manager at the agency, on Wednesday (17). The arrests were part of Operation Rejeito, which investigates a corruption scheme involving forged environmental permits that enabled illegal mining in Minas Gerais. In total, 15 people were arrested, including public officials, business executives, a former congressman, and a sheriff. Two individuals remain at large.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

In a statement, the ANM said it had learned of the Federal Police operation \u201cthrough the press\u201d and that \u201cto date, the agency has not been formally notified of any measures involving staff or leadership.\u201d The regulator reiterated its \u201ccommitment to legality, transparency, and collaboration with the authorities, whenever formally requested, while observing due process of law and ensuring the continuity of regulatory services.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Also arrested was Rodrigo de Melo Teixeira, former director of administrative police at the Federal Police and currently director of administration and finance at the Geological Survey of Brazil (SGB), which is linked to the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The SGB said the allegations under investigation relate to a period before Mr. Teixeira\u2019s appointment. The ministry declined to comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Mr. Teixeira has also served since last year on Petrobras\u2019s Health, Safety, and Environment Committee, but he resigned from the position on Tuesday (17). Petrobras said it has no connection to the allegations under Operation Rejeito. \u201cThese matters are unrelated to the company\u2019s operations and the committee\u2019s work,\u201d it said. Mr. Teixeira became known for initially leading the investigation into the stabbing of former President Jair Bolsonaro in Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais) during the 2018 election campaign. He was dismissed from the Federal Police in February 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

At the state level, the scheme also involved officials at the Minas Gerais State Foundation for the Environment (FEAM). The state government dismissed the officials suspected of taking part in the scheme. Among them was Breno Esteves Lasmar, director-general of the State Forestry Institute (IEF) and chair of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Council (CPB). Others dismissed included Arthur Ferreira Rezende Delfim (arrested by the Federal Police) and Fernando Baliani da Silva, directors of environmental licensing at FEAM; Rodrigo Gon\u00e7alves Franco, former FEAM president; Lirriet de Freitas Lib\u00f3rio, former head of FEAM\u2019s Eastern Minas Gerais licensing unit; and Vitor Reis Salum Tavares, regional management director at FEAM.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

According to state communications secretary Bernardo Santos, some of the dismissed officials were already under internal investigation for suspected involvement in the scheme. Administrative proceedings remain underway. Former FEAM president Rodrigo Gon\u00e7alves Franco, who was also arrested, had already been dismissed on Saturday (13) due to what the government described as his conduct within the institution, which had been \u201cgenerating rumors.\u201d The government added that \u201cillegal actions that may have improperly influenced decisions of the State Environmental and Water Resources System may be reviewed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

At the center of the Federal Police investigation is businessman Alan Cavalcante do Nascimento, identified as the leader of the group, responsible for managing bribe payments and financial operations. He owns 38 companies, including Global Minera\u00e7\u00e3o, which operates in Serra do Curral and other areas of Minas Gerais, and Gute Sicht, whose operations in Serra do Curral were suspended by the courts in January for illegal mining.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Also under investigation are Mr. Nascimento\u2019s partners at Gute Sicht: former state lawmaker Jo\u00e3o Alberto Paix\u00e3o Lages and businessman Helder Adriano de Freitas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

According to the Federal Police, Fleurs Global Minera\u00e7\u00e3o served as the financial hub of the operation. The group allegedly created shell companies that applied for permits to carry out earthmoving services, but in practice extracted iron ore illegally in unlicensed areas. Documents were forged to secure fraudulent mining permits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Investigators say the group paid bribes to officials at several federal and state environmental and mining agencies, including ANM, the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN), FEAM, and the Minas Gerais State Secretariat for the Environment, among others. According to the Federal Police, more than R$3 million in bribes were paid.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The scheme allegedly began in 2020 and generated at least R$1.5 billion in illicit profits for the organization. Mining projects tied to the scheme that remain active are projected to yield more than R$10 billion in profits for those involved. The fraud could result in losses exceeding R$18 billion to the federal government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Federal Police report describes the case as \u201csystemic corruption,\u201d involving \u201ca professional criminal structure\u201d in the state that used \u201cbribes and multiple forms of fraud\u201d to enable illegal extraction, including in historically significant areas of Minas Gerais.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

According to the investigation, the criminal organization was able to expand its operations by creating illicit mining projects, which were only possible \u201cby co-opting authorities through the offer and payment of unlawful benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In total, authorities executed 79 search and seizure warrants and 22 pretrial detention warrants. The operation also ordered the freezing and seizure of R$1.5 billion in assets and suspended the activities of companies implicated in the scheme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Federal Police said pretrial arrests were necessary, in addition to other provisional remedies, because of the \u201cdegree of participation and importance\u201d of the suspects in the criminal organization, making detention \u201cthe only way to dismantle the group and prevent ongoing offenses.\u201d If left free, it warned, the suspects posed a \u201crisk of destroying evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The operation was carried out jointly with the Federal Comptroller General\u2019s Office (CGU) and supported by the Federal Prosecution Service (MPF) and the Federal Revenue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The defense attorneys for the accused could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

(With Folhapress)<\/strong><\/p>\n

*By\u00a0Maira Escardovelli,\u00a0Marlla Sabino\u00a0and\u00a0Cibelle Bou\u00e7as\u00a0\u2014 Bras\u00edlia and Belo Horizonte<\/p>\n

Source: Valor International<\/p>\n

https:\/\/valorinternational.globo.com\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Probe led to 15 arrests, including directors of National Mining Agency, over allegations of forged environmental permits       09\/19\/2025 The Federal Police (PF) arrested Caio M\u00e1rio Trivellato Seabra Filho and Guilherme Santana Lopes Gomes, directors of the National Mining Agency (ANM), and Leandro C\u00e9sar Ferreira de Carvalho, a regional manager at the agency, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8106],"tags":[26424,26425],"class_list":["post-95803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-murray-news","tag-multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining","tag-targeted-by-federal-police"],"yoast_head":"\nMulti-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police - Murray Advogados<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police - Murray Advogados\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Probe led to 15 arrests, including directors of National Mining Agency, over allegations of forged environmental permits       09\/19\/2025 The Federal Police (PF) arrested Caio M\u00e1rio Trivellato Seabra Filho and Guilherme Santana Lopes Gomes, directors of the National Mining Agency (ANM), and Leandro C\u00e9sar Ferreira de Carvalho, a regional manager at the agency, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Murray Advogados\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-19T14:13:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gelcy Bueno\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gelcy Bueno\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gelcy Bueno\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dd0d0bea46c2436124555d18c1a0d52e\"},\"headline\":\"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-19T14:13:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/\"},\"wordCount\":987,\"keywords\":[\"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining\",\"targeted by Federal Police\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Murray News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/\",\"name\":\"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police - Murray Advogados\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-19T14:13:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dd0d0bea46c2436124555d18c1a0d52e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"In\u00edcio\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/home\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Murray Advogados\",\"description\":\"PLG International Lawyers\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dd0d0bea46c2436124555d18c1a0d52e\",\"name\":\"Gelcy Bueno\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ef2acfe966d6deacdeccd2a24ea89192c41fd05fc60e57b79021358a47f5641?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ef2acfe966d6deacdeccd2a24ea89192c41fd05fc60e57b79021358a47f5641?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gelcy Bueno\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/author\/news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police - Murray Advogados","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police - Murray Advogados","og_description":"Probe led to 15 arrests, including directors of National Mining Agency, over allegations of forged environmental permits       09\/19\/2025 The Federal Police (PF) arrested Caio M\u00e1rio Trivellato Seabra Filho and Guilherme Santana Lopes Gomes, directors of the National Mining Agency (ANM), and Leandro C\u00e9sar Ferreira de Carvalho, a regional manager at the agency, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/","og_site_name":"Murray Advogados","article_published_time":"2025-09-19T14:13:35+00:00","author":"Gelcy Bueno","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gelcy Bueno","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/"},"author":{"name":"Gelcy Bueno","@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dd0d0bea46c2436124555d18c1a0d52e"},"headline":"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police","datePublished":"2025-09-19T14:13:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/"},"wordCount":987,"keywords":["Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining","targeted by Federal Police"],"articleSection":["Murray News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/","url":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/","name":"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police - Murray Advogados","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-09-19T14:13:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dd0d0bea46c2436124555d18c1a0d52e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/multi-billion-corruption-scheme-in-mining-targeted-by-federal-police\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"In\u00edcio","item":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Multi-billion corruption scheme in mining targeted by Federal Police"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/","name":"Murray Advogados","description":"PLG International Lawyers","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/dd0d0bea46c2436124555d18c1a0d52e","name":"Gelcy Bueno","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ef2acfe966d6deacdeccd2a24ea89192c41fd05fc60e57b79021358a47f5641?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ef2acfe966d6deacdeccd2a24ea89192c41fd05fc60e57b79021358a47f5641?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gelcy Bueno"},"url":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/author\/news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95803"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95805,"href":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95803\/revisions\/95805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/murray.adv.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}