Operation against ‘Gatonet’ blocks cryptocurrencies belonging to 8 individuals and 5 companies

The Civil Police of Santa Catarina launched the operation “A Firma”, which is investigating a cell of a criminal organization active in Santa Catarina. Among the suspects, the cryptocurrencies of 8 individuals and 5 companies were blocked by the court.

The operation took place on the morning of last Tuesday (29) to combat the illegal activities of one of the largest criminal organizations operating in Brazil, offering illegal audiovisual content through a service popularly known as “Gato net”.

The action against the digital piracy program, called Operation “A Firma”, also had the participation of the Association to Combat Digital Piracy (La Alianza).

Operation against Gatonet investigates money laundering by criminals with bank accounts and cryptocurrencies

With the participation of 53 civilian police officers and 7 experts, 32 search and seizure warrants were executed in 11 Brazilian cities. The municipalities with suspects were in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Bahia.

As there are indications of money laundering, the 2nd Criminal Court of Araçatuba has also found the blocking and unavailability of all financial assets, including cryptocurrencies, of eight individuals and five companies.

It was also decided to block dozens of domains and IPs used to maintain the illegal streaming network.

Finally, Operation A Firm ordered the closure of companies set up for money laundering purposes. The information comes from PCSP and MPSP.

The head of the organization was already arrested in 2020

For the past eight months, the MPSP, through CyberGaeco and the Penápolis Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Civil Police have been investigating one of the largest criminal organizations involved in the illegal delivery of audiovisual content.

The activities took place with the support of the State Department of Criminal Investigations (DEIC) of the 10th Department of Judicial Police of São Paulo Interior (DEINTER).

The International Association to Combat Digital Piracy – La Alianza cooperated in the steps.

The criminal organization, headquartered in Penápolis, was responsible for maintaining a sophisticated illegal content delivery network, with operations in several Brazilian states and tens of thousands of illegal access points across the country.

It draws attention to the case where the head of the group was arrested in November 2020 and responded freely for copyright infringement. For the authorities, however, the ongoing criminal process did not prevent the organization from continuing to act, including laundering illegally obtained amounts.

The investigation into the case will continue with the new evidence gathered during the operation. It was not reported how authorities blocked the suspects’ cryptocurrencies, nor how much they moved in doing so.

Source: Live Coins

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