Key facts
- Brazilian refineries allegedly sold over 100 million liters of naphtha to Petrodansk, a firm linked to the PCC.
- Petrodansk is accused of diverting naphtha to gas stations in a fuel-smuggling and money-laundering scheme.
- The U.S. recently designated the PCC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
- Riograndense refinery, a supplier to Petrodansk, failed to apply a required chemical marker to millions of liters of naphtha.
- Riograndense claims the marking failure was an unintentional operational error and has since corrected its system.
Brazilian refineries have allegedly supplied over 100 million liters of naphtha to Petrodansk, a company under investigation for its involvement in a sophisticated fraud and money-laundering scheme linked to the First Capital Command (PCC), Brazil's most powerful criminal organization. The PCC was recently designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States, signaling increased risks for companies operating within its suspected income streams.
Documents reviewed by Reuters indicate that Riograndense, a refinery co-owned by Petrobras, Braskem, and Ultrapar, was a significant supplier of naphtha to Petrodansk. A substantial portion of these shipments, totaling 116 million liters out of 139 million sold between February 2023 and September 2024, reportedly lacked a crucial chemical marker mandated by Brazil's oil regulator, ANP, to prevent fuel fraud. This omission made it difficult for authorities to track whether the naphtha was being illegally diverted to gas stations.
Petrodansk is accused by Sao Paulo state prosecutors of systematically diverting petrochemical naphtha to gas stations in the Sao Paulo region, blending it with gasoline to evade taxes and launder money. Investigators have uncovered evidence of fake solvent sales receipts issued by Petrodansk to shell companies, some of which do not exist or are run by individuals with criminal records. Trucks supposedly transporting solvent to other states were found to have remained within Sao Paulo.
Riograndense has stated that the failure to mark the naphtha was an unintentional operational error and that it has since rectified its marking system and enhanced due diligence procedures. The refinery reportedly blocked further sales to Petrodansk in October 2024 after identifying potential compliance issues. Petrobras and Ultrapar indicated that Riograndense operates independently and they had not been formally notified of any prosecutor probes. Braskem did not respond to requests for comment.
Experts highlight the growing risk for companies in Brazil's energy sector to inadvertently engage with entities linked to the PCC, which has expanded its money-laundering operations into various formal economic sectors. The U.S. designation of the PCC as a terrorist organization amplifies the potential consequences for businesses, including stiffer penalties, expanded jurisdiction for prosecution, and asset forfeiture, beyond the existing sanctions regime.