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Brazil’s Federal Police, Federal Revenue Service and Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an operation Tuesday targeting an alleged bribery scheme inside customs controls at the Port of Rio de Janeiro.
Authorities say the suspected network involved importers, customs brokers and public servants who allegedly helped release cargo without proper inspection. G1 reported that the scheme caused an estimated R$500 million loss to public coffers, roughly USD 100 million at recent exchange rates.
The Operation
Operation Mare Liberum — Latin for “free sea” — included 45 search-and-seizure warrants in Rio de Janeiro state and Espírito Santo. Targets included addresses in Rio de Janeiro, Niterói, Nilópolis, Nova Friburgo and Vitória, as well as customs offices at the Port of Rio and Galeão airport and the Federal Revenue superintendency in Rio.
A court also ordered 17 tax auditors and eight tax analysts removed from their posts while the investigation proceeds. Nine customs brokers were barred from working at the Port of Rio, and authorities were authorized to freeze up to R$102 million in assets, according to G1 and InfoMoney.
O Globo reported that federal agents seized stacks of Brazilian reais, dollars and euros at the home of a Federal Revenue auditor in Barra da Tijuca, an affluent area in western Rio. Dollars were also seized at another auditor’s home in Niterói. The cash had not yet been counted, according to the report.
What Investigators Allege
The investigation began after a complaint about alleged collusion among customs officials, importers and brokers to facilitate smuggling and customs fraud in exchange for economic benefits.
According to the Federal Revenue Service, investigators identified nearly 17,000 suspicious import declarations between July 2021 and March 2026. O Globo reported that the declarations covered about R$86.6 billion in goods, roughly USD 17 billion at recent rates. That figure refers to the value of the merchandise under scrutiny, while the fiscal loss reported by G1 and InfoMoney was estimated at R$500 million.
Brazilian customs declarations are used to describe imported goods, their value and the taxes owed. Investigators say some containers were cleared even when the cargo did not match the paperwork filed by companies, potentially suppressing taxes and allowing irregular imports into the country.
The Federal Revenue Service said the alleged scheme operated through repeated manipulation of customs controls. Goods selected for stricter inspection channels — known in Brazil as the red and gray channels — were allegedly diverted and released despite serious inconsistencies between the physical cargo and the declared information.
Three Alleged Fronts
O Globo reported that investigators mapped three main fronts. The first involved direct clearance of goods that should have faced stricter customs checks. The second involved the oil and gas sector, where artificial procedures were allegedly created to release vessels and equipment under temporary admission rules without proper legal basis.
The third alleged front involved improper payments from port operators. Authorities say the suspected group could face charges including active and passive corruption, criminal association, smuggling, customs fraud, tax crimes, ideological falsehood and money laundering.
One Federal Revenue analyst was arrested in flagrante delicto for illegal gun possession, G1 reported.
PortosRio, the public port authority, said the operation took place in areas used by federal agencies inside the Port of Rio and that the company itself was not under investigation. In a statement published by G1, PortosRio said port operations continued normally and that it was cooperating with authorities.
Fonts: https://oglobo.globo.com/rio/noticia/2026/04/28/corrupcao-na-alfandega-do-porto-do-rio-e-alvo-de-operacao-da-pf.ghtml https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2026/04/28/operacao-mira-corrupcao-na-alfandega-do-porto-do-rio.ghtml https://www.infomoney.com.br/brasil/pf-mira-esquema-de-corrupcao-no-porto-do-rj-prejuizo-e-estimado-em-r-500-mi/
accessed on 28 April 2026