By Isabel Teles and Luciana Magalhaes
SAO PAULO, July 15 (Reuters) – Prosecutors and police in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday said they charged 22 people with laundering $20 million for two Brazilian gangs designated by the U.S. as terrorist groups.
Rio de Janeiro civil police said in a statement the gangs are the Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and alleged an indirect link between the money-laundering operation and a financing structure tied to Islamist group al Qaeda.
Authorities arrested 10 of the 22 people charged, carried out searches in several states and are seeking to freeze assets connected to the money-laundering network.
Prosecutors said they are continuing to investigate. Law enforcement has identified suspects with al Qaeda links in Brazil in the past.
Earlier this month, a Brazilian federal police operation targeting suspects with alleged ties to the PCC gang was accelerated after the U.S. sanctioned two suspects, a move that, according to the head of Brazil’s Federal Police, ultimately hindered the investigation.
($1 = 5.0801 reais)
(Reporting by Isabel Teles and Luciana Magalhaes; Writing by Victoria Pacheco; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Cynthia Osterman)
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