The owner of the betting platform (bet) Esportes da Sorte, Darwin Henrique da Silva Filho, and his wife, Maria Eduarda Quinto Filizola, turned themselves in to the Civil Police of Pernambuco on the morning of this Thursday (5).
Operated by HSF Gaming, a group based in Curaçao, a Caribbean tax haven, the website Esportes da Sorte is being investigated as part of Operation Integration, launched yesterday (4), against an alleged criminal organization suspected of moving almost R$3 billion obtained from illegal gambling and money laundering.
The businessman and his wife remain in custody, but their lawyers have already appealed to the Court of Justice of Pernambuco, requesting that the two be authorized to remain at the disposal of the Justice system in freedom.
“All the police questions were duly answered and doubts about the activities of the company Esporte da Sorte were cleared up, demonstrating the regularity and legality of the professional activities”, argued the Rigueira, Amorim, Caribé and Leitão office, in a note sent to journalists.
Launched by the Civil Police of Pernambuco, Operation Integration had the support of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and Interpol, in addition to the participation of agents from the security forces of Goiás, Paraná, Paraíba and São Paulo, where, yesterday, part of the 19 judicial arrest warrants and 24 search and seizure warrants were served, including the seizure of luxury vehicles, aircraft and vessels, in addition to the freezing of assets.
Among those under investigation are lawyer and digital influencer Deolane Bezerra from Pernambuco and her mother, Solange Bezerra, suspected of being part of the alleged illicit scheme. The two underwent a custody hearing and, by decision of the Pernambuco Court, remain in temporary detention.
The Civil Police did not provide details on the evidence that justified the arrest of Deolane and her mother. In a message posted on her social media, the influencer said she was the target of an injustice and that she was “destroyed” to see her mother “going through such humiliation.” “I am suffering a great injustice. The prejudice and persecution against me and my family is notorious, but all of this will serve to prove, once again, to all of you, that I do not and have never committed crimes.”
According to those responsible for the investigations that began in April 2023, there is evidence that the “criminal organization” targeted by Operation Integration moved more than R$3 billion between January 2019 and May 2023. Almost all of this amount came from illegal gambling. According to the investigators, to “launder” the money, that is, to cover up the origin of the illicit amounts, incorporating them into the assets of those involved, the group used several event, advertising, currency exchange and insurance companies.
“The money was laundered through fractional cash deposits, bank transactions between those investigated with immediate withdrawal of the amount, purchase of luxury vehicles, aircraft, boats, jewelry, luxury watches, in addition to the acquisition of hundreds of properties,” highlighted the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, in a note.
Without mentioning names, the chief delegate of the Civil Police of Pernambuco, Renato Rocha, had already highlighted, this Wednesday, that bets and other legally constituted companies are suspected of being part of the scheme just to try to give a legal appearance to the illegal money.
“We are investigating a criminal organization that originated through operations in the illegal gambling sector,” Rocha said. “The criminal organization also operated in the betting sector, but the original crime concerns gambling that is not authorized by law. [Ou seja] bets and other companies were used to launder money from this illegal gaming sector”, added the delegate, before making a reservation against bets in general.
“Every gaming bank has its own algorithm that is beneficial to [própria] bank. Whether the games are legal or illegal. We all know this. Some receive a return [financeiro] “The majority of people who bet on this type of gambling, whether legal or illegal, lose money. It is important that the population knows that betting is a game of chance and that the probability of winning is lower than that of losing,” said the chief delegate.
