The Atlas bank in its statement published on Friday affirms that the accusations against the financial entity come from a media group; However, everything published is rescued from the note sent by the prosecutor Lorena Ledesma to the deputy prosecutor of the Specialized Unit in the Fight against Drug Trafficking, Marco Alcaraz Recalde. It is part of the conclusion of a money laundering investigation of drug trafficker Luiz Carlos da Rocha, alias Cabeza Branca, which began in 2017. The tax investigation maintains that several financial entities, including Atlas, would have been part of the money laundering scheme. money by improperly granting loans. Atlas granted a loan of US$ 6.5 million to Gilberto Suárez, the name of “Cabeza Branca”.
By Jorge Torres Romero and Cinthia Mora
On February 3, 2021, the prosecutor Lorena Ledesma details in her brief the details of the investigation of case No. 9621/2017 “Luiz Carlos da Rocha and others s/ money laundering and others” that began on July 1, 2017 with the arrest of the drug lord in the Federative Republic of Brazil, who is currently serving a sentence for drug trafficking in that country.
Brazil informed Paraguay of the arrest of “Cabeza Branca”, as well as that the drug lord between 2005 and 2017 would have integrated financial assets into the Republic of Paraguay through a front company scheme, front names and accountants who provided a support with legal appearance to place the cash shipments of the same, and thus acquire properties, vehicles, livestock and mobilize capital through the economic and financial system of our country, which motivated the opening of the investigation.
The tax report indicates that there were twenty accusations in the investigation, in addition, several livestock establishments owned by these companies were identified and 8 of them were seized between 2019 and 2020. All of them were handed over to the Secretariat of Seized and Forfeited Assets (Senabico).
Currently, the Prosecutor’s Office continues its task of determining which were other companies that would be part of the “Cabeza Branca” estate.
The Prosecutor’s Office clearly points out that there is evidence to suggest that financial entities, including the Atlas bank of the Zuccolillo family, actively participated in money laundering by granting loans to people who did not meet the financial profile, and in this way contribute to the integration of sums of money resulting from drug trafficking.
“Of the natural and legal persons investigated, a financial behavior was observed until July 2017 and a very different one after the aforementioned period, a fact that is striking, since several of the companies in question through their shareholders gradually incurred in the cessation of their financial obligations, even before the intervention of the Public Ministry in the case called Spectrum in Paraguay, but after the arrest of Luiz Carlos da Rocha, “says the tax report.
Gilberto Suárez, front man for “Cabeza Branca”, agreed to a US$ 6.5 million mortgage loan at Banco Atlas.
THE ATLAS CASE, OF THE ZUCCOLILLO FAMILY
According to the Public Ministry, Da Rocha carried out shady operations, through his proxies, with local financial entities, including the Zuccolillo family bank, which is now seeking to foreclose on a property that is being managed by Senabico, in the framework of a case against “Cabeza Branca” and its figureheads.
This is Cielo Azul, a ranch of 5,945 hectares located in the town of Paso Barreto, department of Concepción. It belongs to the firm Biocombustible Brasilero Biobras, whose president is Mr. Gilberto Suárez, who appears in the tax investigation as the alleged front man for drug trafficker Luiz Carlos da Rocha.
In November 2015, Suárez signed a contract with the Atlas bank for a line of credit with mortgage guarantee, for up to US$6,421,857.37, which was to be used through loans and other banking operations.
As a mortgage guarantee, the president of Biobras offered the farms of the Cielo Azul ranch, so after breaching the agreement, not having paid the bank, the Zuccolillo family resorted in 2019 to the Justice for foreclosure; however, the property in question was already in charge of Senabico and the Justice ordered a prohibition measure to contract on it.
The investigator also emphasizes that these facts would constitute sufficient indications of the complicity of the financial institutions in the integration and simulation of the assets of Luiz Carlos da Rocha in the financial system, and that for this reason she informs her superior of these circumstances so that it begins an investigation against the banks involved, including the Atlas bank, of the Zuccolillo family.
The accusations against financial entities, including the Atlas bank, stem from the investigation carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office since 2017 into the drug kingpin Luiz Carlos da Rocha, alias Cabeza Branca, for money laundering.
