São Paulo exchange office used to launder PCC drug money, says Federal Police

Federal Police investigations have identified Marmaris Corretora de Câmbio, a small exchange office located on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo, as a central component in a money laundering scheme for the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) criminal organization. The company allegedly used the clandestine ‘dólar-cabo’ system—a method of international financial compensation that bypasses official banking systems—to internalize funds in Brazil derived from international drug trafficking.

Investigators found that drug shipments initially moved through the Port of Santos, but routes have since expanded to various terminals along the Brazilian coast, particularly in the Northeast, to evade increased fiscal scrutiny. The Federal Police identified the owner of Marmaris, Marcos Alexandre Agustoni, as playing a ‘crucial role’ in these operations. Evidence obtained through the breach of financial and telephone secrecy includes messages regarding the management of a US$ 1.7 million remittance destined for Rotterdam, Netherlands.

While defense attorneys for Agustoni state he has ‘no connection to drug trafficking’ and that his alleged actions are limited to ‘financial links,’ the investigation continues to map the organization's complex international financial networks.