Brazil charges 22 with laundering $20 million for gangs, probes possible al Qaeda link

By Isabel Teles ‌and Luciana ​Magalhaes

SAO ​PAULO, July 15 (Reuters) - Prosecutors and police in Rio de Janeiro on ‌Wednesday said they charged 22 people ⁠with laundering $20 million for two Brazilian gangs designated ‌by the U.S. as ‌terrorist groups.

Rio de Janeiro civil police said in a statement the gangs are the ​Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and alleged an indirect link ⁠between the money-laundering operation and a financing structure tied to ​Islamist group al Qaeda.

Authorities arrested 10 of the 22 people charged, carried ​out searches in several states ‌and are seeking to freeze assets connected to the money-laundering network.

Prosecutors said ⁠they are continuing to investigate. Law enforcement has identified suspects with al Qaeda links ⁠in Brazil in the past.

Earlier this month, a Brazilian ​federal police operation targeting suspects with alleged ties to the PCC gang was accelerated after the U.S. ‌sanctioned two suspects, a move that, according to the head of ‌Brazil's Federal Police, ultimately hindered the investigation.

($1 = ⁠5.0801 reais)

(Reporting by ‌Isabel Teles and ​Luciana Magalhaes; Writing by Victoria Pacheco; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Cynthia ‌Osterman)

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