The Federal Police are targeting the illegal trade in gold extracted from indigenous lands, according to the records of an inquiry into the illegal activity of mining companies in the northern region of the country.
Investigators suspect that businessmen use a mine near Itaituba, Pará, to “heat” ore taken from Yanomami territory. There are indications, according to the Federal Police, that the practice includes products extracted from other environmental reserves in the Amazon region. Among them, indigenous lands in Pará, Roraima and Rondônia.
The investigation is part of three operations launched earlier this month against mining company Gana Gold, currently MMGold. It has businessmen Márcio Macedo and Domingos Zoboli as partners.
The group is suspected of circumventing the limits of a license granted by the public administration in 2020. In possession of a document that only allowed them to carry out research on the existence of ore on the ground, they allegedly extracted tons of gold illegally.
In total, the PF estimates that the companies involved in the case moved around BRL 16 billion between 2019 and 2021.
THE Sheetthe lawyer Arthur Mendonça Vargas Junior, responsible for the defense of Ghana Gold, said that he analyzes the information from the investigation and that he will manifest himself at the end of the police investigation.
In the case of gold from Yanomami land, in Roraima, the PF’s suspicion began after the analysis of transactions related to the economic group led by Macedo and Zoboli. Financial information shows a relationship between Ghana Gold and businessman Rodrigo Martins de Mello.
Mello is suspected of commanding the logistical operation that guarantees the illegal exploitation of gold in the Yanomami land. as he showed the Sheetthe group he led generated R$ 200 million in two years.
He is a pre-candidate for federal deputy for the PL, the party of President Jair Bolsonaro, and went on to coordinate a movement of garimpeiros in Roraima that tries to legitimize criminal activity in Yanomami territory.
In the period analyzed by the investigators, at least R$ 2 million in transfers from Ghana Gold to Mello were mapped.
In addition to these direct transactions between Mello and the company, the PF also found 46 transfers from the company to GG Travassos, who, in turn, transferred amounts to Tarp Táxi Aéreo.
According to the PF, Gabriel Travassos, a partner at GG, would be an intermediary for Ghana Gold in the purchase of gold extracted from unauthorized mining.
Tarp, in turn, has Mello among the owners and is one of the companies that have multi-million contracts signed with the federal government. Between 2016 and 2018, the company received BRL 29.1 million from the Union’s coffers.
Two other Mello companies, Cataratas Poços Artesianos and Icaraí Turismo Táxi Aéreo, have received BRL 39.5 million from the federal government since 2014. The largest share — BRL 23.5 million to Icaraí — in the Bolsonaro government.
In addition to transactions with Mello’s companies, the PF also received information from Coaf (Council for the Control of Financial Activities) about Ghana Gold’s transactions with firms headquartered in Roraima, where the Yanomami indigenous land is located. In total, says the PF, these transfers add up to R$ 18.9 million.
The operation to “heat” gold, like the one that would have originated in Yanomami land, works as follows: authorized by the government to explore a certain area, the company starts mining in clandestine mines or prohibited places, including indigenous lands.
The gold extracted illegally from these non-permitted sites is declared to the ANM (National Mining Agency), the sector’s regulatory body, as if it were from an authorized area.
The declaration on the amount extracted is rarely submitted to any type of control or inspection and, as a result, the illicit origin is camouflaged.
To reinforce the appearance of legality, the company even collects the CFEM portion, a consideration paid by the mining company to the Union, the states, the Federal District and the municipalities.
At the end of the operation, the gold is inserted into the formal economy. Investigators refer to this operation as “heating up” the ore.
According to the records of Operação Ganância, the indications that this may have occurred emerged from the analysis of the amount of metal sold by the company and declared as originating in the garimpo in Pará.
Ghana Gold initially planned to remove 96 kilos a year from the mine near Itaituba, according to the usage guide issued by the ANM.
In one year and five months, between 2020 and 2021, production should be approximately 161 kilograms. The company registered trade of a total of four tons (2,380% more).
“There is intense activity in the place that clearly surpasses that of mere research, with significant movement of trucks”, said the PF in the investigation.
To illustrate the suspicions raised against the business group, the PF attached aerial photos of an area of approximately 192 hectares to the file.
Images show stretches of devastated forest. In the area were built shacks, sheds and other structures used for exploration of the site. The photographic record also reveals the existence of a tailings lake, another indication of exploratory activity.
The police estimate the environmental impact caused by the suspected group’s activities in the Itaituba region at R$ 300 million, considering deforestation, silting of water courses and mercury contamination.
The money obtained from the sale of gold, according to investigators, was laundered in a chain of bakeries, cryptocurrency investment, luxury real estate, trucks and aircraft.
As reported by the Sheetone of the suspects, businessman Márcio Macedo, a partner at Gana Gold, lavished a life of luxury.
Information collected by the PF revealed millionaire transactions in their accounts and expenses with helicopters, speedboats, imported truck and a wedding party packed to the sound of famous country duos.
A PF report exposes the financial transactions of Macedo and his business group and shows that, between 2020 and 2021, illegal gold mining generated approximately R$ 1.1 billion for the investigated.
PF aims to buy gold on indigenous lands
Where the PF suspects the hot gold in Pará comes from
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Yanomami indigenous territory, in Roraima
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Indigenous territories in Pará
How the “heating up” of gold works
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The company obtains a title that authorizes exploration or extraction of ore in a certain area
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The authorization holder starts mining in clandestine mines or prohibited places (indigenous lands, for example)
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Gold illegally extracted from unauthorized locations is declared to the National Mining Agency, the industry’s regulatory body, as if it were within the permitted area.
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The declaration on the amount extracted is rarely submitted to any type of control or inspection and, therefore, camouflages the illicit origin.
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To reinforce the appearance of legality, the company even collects the CFEM portion (financial compensation for the exploitation of mineral resources)
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Gold enters the formal economy
Example of heating pointed out by the PF in Operation Greed
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Gana Gold initially planned to remove 96 kilos from a certain area in Pará, according to the use guide issued by the government
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In one year and five months, production should be approximately 161 kilograms.
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The company registered trade of a total of four tons (2,380% more)
How PF targets laundered money
