Brazil opens Rio de Janeiro anti‑fraud office to coordinate federal and state security

The Ministry of Justice and Public Security inaugurated the National Anti‑Fraud Office in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. The office aims to deepen integration between the federal government, the state of Rio and local municipalities to combat organized crime. Justice Minister Wellington César Lima e Silva said the presence will be permanent because Rio "synthesises the challenges of Brazil’s public safety".

The office is part of the Brazil Against Organized Crime programme; similar units have been set up in São Paulo and Foz do Iguaçu, and Rio and São Paulo also received regional COAF (Financial Activities Control Council) headquarters. National Secretary of Public Safety Chico Lucas stressed that COAF is central to the effort, noting, "If the final goal of criminal organisations is profit, and profit funds violent actions, we must close that bottleneck."

The new structure will provide strategic intelligence and logistical support to state security forces, assist other states facing Rio‑born criminal groups, and work with regulators such as Anatel to map telecom operators used by crime. It will also boost prison security: equipment, training and monthly regional and national operations targeting gang leadership, with 138 prisons nationwide selected for these actions, covering almost 80% of the country’s criminal bosses.