Terrorist funding has new center of operations in Brazil

Terrorists have a new center of operations in Brazil. On the border between the Brazilian city of Chuí, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and Chuy, on the Uruguayan side, money laundering activities have increased, which have been used, among other purposes, to finance Hamas.

This was revealed in a report by Infobae, which explained that several sources indicated that several Palestinian "doleiros" operate on this border and are used to send money to Palestine. "Doleiros" illegally transfer money from one country to another without any declaration to authorities.

"On Aug. 23, Operation Downtown launched by the São Paulo Civil Police uncovered a major money laundering network of the main Brazilian criminal group First Capital Command (PCC), which operated with the help of a Palestinian businessman originally from Chuí," Infobae said.

According to the report, "the money earned by the PCC from drug sales in Cracolandia, the neighborhood in downtown São Paulo where crack is sold and consumed, was laundered through a bank, several exchange houses and a series of companies in Brazil and Uruguay, among them an offshore account exposed by the Panama Papers: Farlow Development S.A., headquartered in the British Virgin Islands."

Infobae, which spoke with sources related to the case, detailed that at least 13 companies were allegedly involved in the money laundering scheme. Among the companies, there are some considered "front companies" that are owned by the Palestinian Khaled Mustafa family, who are from Chuí, such as VWM, owned by Aiman Khaled Mustafa.

"According to the Brazilian police, VWM benefited from 32 transactions made by other companies involved in the scheme, such as Guardiões do Cambio that sent 2.3 million reais ($410,000) to VWM and Suprema Gestão that sent 3.2 million reais ($570,000)," explained Infobae.

But in addition, the report also points to travel companies that offer currency exchange. As the media outlet was able to verify, although most of these types of agencies operate in what is considered the "triple border of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay," the region of Chuí and Chuy "is an important breeding ground for illicit activities and the financing of terrorism."

"Hezbollah uses them to launder money and finance its terrorist activities and historically they are concentrated in the Triple Border, which includes Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay," Infobae said.

Infobae insisted that the Chuí-Chuy border is used by Hamas to finance terrorist activities. It is "backed also by a history of illicit operations carried out in the past by Al Qaeda," the media outlet highlighted.

Likewise, the report indicated that this border is important because of its proximity to other sensitive border points. It highlighted that authorities also discovered it was being used as a point of entry for South African and Mozambican imams from the two neighboring Brazilian cities of Quaraí and Santana do Livramento into Uruguay.

"They are funded by, among others, the Johannesburg center Darul Uloom Zakariyya, formerly Zakariyya Park Madrassa, accused of being an anti-United States jihad training center by a South African intelligence leak published by Al Jazeera in 2015," the report explained.

Finally, it also highlights the Brazilian president's position on Israel's war against terrorists. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made an appearance wearing a Palestinian headscarf, and in August a photo was published with the following phrase written in Arabic: "Jerusalem is ours. We are coming."