SFO seizes laundered funds from Brazilian executive

On March 17, 2023, the UK Serious Fraud Office announced the recovery of more than $7.6 million from Mario Ildeu de Miranda, a former executive at Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (“Petrobras”).  Miranda was prosecuted as part of the Lava Jato investigation (Operation Car Wash), and was convicted in Brazil in 2019 and sentenced to prison for receiving nearly $25 million from Odebrecht S.A. and laundering much of it through offshore bank accounts.  According to UK authorities, $7,699,204 of the laundered funds were eventually transferred to a UK bank account associated with Miranda.  The account was frozen in August 2020.  The SFO’s action represents the agency’s largest seizure ever from a single bank account.

SFO press release