Renato Cariani had his arrest request denied by the courts, says PF

Influencer Renato Cariani, one of the targets of the Federal Police (PF) operation investigating the diversion of chemical products for drug production, had his arrest request denied by the courts.

According to delegate Victor Vivaldi, the Public Ministry agreed with the requests made by the PF, but the Court rejected them, accepting only the 18 search and seizure requests carried out today in São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Paraná.

The PF argued that the constant repetition of the crime motivated the request for arrest against the influencer.

“The arrest requests were based on the repetition of the crime, precisely during this period of 6 years, with 60 confirmed events of banknotes issued fraudulently”, explains Vivaldi.

Renato Cariani, who has more than 7 million followers on Instagram alone, is part-owner of the company Anidrol, one of the targets of the operation.

According to delegate Fabrizio Galli, head of the narcotics repression department, more than R$6 million worth of chemicals were diverted between 2014 and 2020, the equivalent of 12 tons. The amount would be enough to produce up to 19 tons of cocaine and crack.

Among the diverted products are lots of phenacetin, acetone, ethyl ether, hydrochloric acid, as well as other chemical components.

The criminal organization used shell companies, while members posed as employees of multinationals, to issue fraudulent invoices for pharmaceutical companies and sell chemical products.

Payment was made in cash through “oranges” in the cashier’s mouth, an action that deviates from the standards of multinational companies.

The scheme was discovered after one of the companies denied any connection with 2 deposits made by those investigated.