MPRN obtains a freeze of R$ 145 million in an investigation against the irregular operation of betting establishments in Bodó.

The Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Rio Grande do Norte (MPRN) obtained court orders for precautionary measures involving the seizure, blocking, and freezing of assets worth up to R$ 145 million in an investigation into an illegal fixed-odds betting scheme – initially supported by a municipal law in Bodó, according to the MPRN website.

The investigation by the MPRN (Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio Grande do Norte) focuses on investigating the crimes of money laundering, inciting speculation, criminal offenses (operating unauthorized gambling and lotteries), criminal association, and crimes against consumer relations. The scheme used the municipal agency LOTSERIDÓ, created by the Municipality of Bodó, as a front to give an appearance of legality to dozens of online betting platforms.

The Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio Grande do Norte (MPRN) acted due to the blatant illegality of the operations, since municipalities cannot legislate on lotteries and fixed-odds betting. The precautionary measure was considered urgent given the concrete risk of capital flight, tax evasion, and asset dissipation, aiming to protect the recovery of damages caused by the illicit activity and the effectiveness of criminal prosecution.

The conclusions of the MPRN (Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio Grande do Norte) are based, among other arguments, on the consolidated understanding of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) on the matter. Binding judgments of the Court, such as that issued in the Argument of Non-Compliance with Fundamental Precept (ADPF) 337, establish that municipalities cannot operate betting or lottery services.

The Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio Grande do Norte (MPRN) investigated the significant movement of financial resources. It was demonstrated, by the Municipality of Bodó/RN itself in public statements, that the companies collected approximately R$ 415 million in just 10 months of operation, based on the transfer of 2% of gross revenue (GGR) to the Municipality of Bodó (approximately R$ 8 million). The analysis also revealed the use of "front men," individuals with socioeconomic profiles incompatible with the amounts of money involved.

Investigations point to the involvement of several companies, many of which show signs of being shell companies, registering non-existent addresses or continuing to operate even after being deregistered with the Federal Revenue Service. Furthermore, crimes against consumer relations are being investigated, in which the companies used institutional digital forgery (injecting code into reputable domains, such as ".gov.br" and ".edu.br", to confer false credibility) to mislead consumers.

The MPRN's action aims to disrupt a scheme that harms consumers and promotes misinformation about the legality of betting, without any concern for preventing money laundering or the mental health of bettors. The freezing of financial assets, vehicles, and real estate serves to guarantee future compensation for damages and enable the confiscation of illegally obtained funds.
At the request of the MPRN (Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio Grande do Norte), the Rio Grande do Norte court ordered the freezing of balances in accounts (checking, savings, investment) and financial investments, the freezing of pension plans via Susep (Superintendence of Private Insurance), the unavailability of real estate assets through CNIB (National Registry of Unregistered Assets), and the freezing of vehicles through Renajud (National Registry of Judicial Restrictions on Vehicles).

With the precautionary measures decreed, the MPRN (Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio Grande do Norte) seeks the immediate cessation of criminal offenses and ensures that assets used in or derived from money laundering crimes are frozen.