The Rio de Janeiro Court heard this Wednesday (24) seven prosecution witnesses requested by the Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor’s Office in a hearing of instruction and judgment of the case in which Glaidson Acácio dos Santos, known as “Pharaoh of Bitcoins”, is accused of leading a criminal organization in a financial pyramid scheme involving cryptocurrencies. The scheme harmed clients of GAS Consultoria e Tecnologia in Cabo Frio, in the Lagos Region. 
Operation Kryptos, which led to the arrest of Glaidson dos Santos, was launched by the Federal Police Superintendence in Rio de Janeiro in August 2021 and was responsible for one of the largest seizures of cryptocurrencies and cash values combined by the Federal Police. There were around R$150 million in crypto assets and around R$14 million in cash, in addition to dozens of vehicles, watches and jewelry.
Of the 17 people accused of involvement in the criminal organization, five are responding to the same case as Glaidson. In today’s hearing, presided over by Judge Gustavo Khalil, head of the 1st Specialized Court for Combating Organized Crime of the Court of Justice, four participated and one, who was absent, was represented by his lawyer. Glaidson, who is being held in the federal prison in Catanduvas (PR), participated in the hearing via videoconference.
The first witness to testify was police officer Guilherme de Paula Machado Catramby, who described the operation that resulted in Glaidson’s arrest, the gang’s operations, and Glaidson’s role as leader of the criminal organization. Police officers Marcelo Ricardo Santos da Silva and Carlos Magno Maurício de Souza spoke about the investigation into the death of cryptocurrency investor and YouTuber Wesley Pessano, in which Glaidson is suspected of participating. According to the investigation, Wesley was allegedly a competitor of the accused in transactions involving cryptocurrencies.
The fourth witness heard was also a civil police officer, Rubens Barbosa da Silva, who spoke about his participation in the investigations into the attempted murders of Nilson Alves da Silva and João Victor Rocha da Silva Guedes. Glaidson is also accused of ordering the execution of the two men, who are also identified as his competitors in the cryptocurrency market. Police officer Guilherme de Almeida Ferreri described how he acted in the investigation of the criminal organization in Cabo Frio, where Glaidson is accused of being the leader.
Private bank security guard and cryptocurrency investor Wellington Ribeiro Câmara was the penultimate to testify, denying that he had suffered any type of threat due to his activities in the market. The director of the Digital Evidence and Technology Division of the MPRJ, Maria do Carmo Gargalhone, spoke about the forensic techniques used during the investigations by the technical department of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
