Brazilian group stole €900,000 from Portuguese banks in ten months
Eleven Brazilian nationals have been accused by the Public Prosecution Service of more than a dozen robberies at banks, security vans and currency exchange houses in Portugal.
Disguised as couriers, Brazilian group plundered banks across the country
Eleven Brazilian nationals have been accused by the Public Prosecution Service of committing crimes of qualified robbery, robbery, kidnapping, criminal association and money laundering, after robbing approximately a dozen banks, currency exchange houses and security transport vans in various areas of mainland Portugal, over a period of just ten months.
According to noticiasaominuto.com, based on the charge brought by the Public Prosecution Department of Santarém, the group managed to steal more than €900,000 from Portuguese banking institutions, an amount that was subsequently transferred to Brazil, into accounts controlled by the accused themselves or by people they trusted.
Hierarchical leadership and disguise methods
The accusation describes a "hierarchical structure", whose identified leader is Ediel Nery, 40 years old. According to the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action of Santarém, it was Nery's responsibility to recruit the remaining members, give orders — both to the other accused and to employees and customers present at the robbed locations — and personally advance to the safes, "leading by example and assuming the potentially greater risks". He was also the one who wielded the weapons used to intimidate victims.
The other accused assumed functions of monitoring the authorities, reconnaissance of escape routes, control of customers and employees and rendering security cameras inoperative.
To avoid being recognised, the group used TVDE vehicles and wore false beards, caps, artificial hairpieces, motorcycle helmets and delivery backpacks from Bolt Food and Glovo. The Brazilian magazine Oeste, cited in the charge, adds that the group "mapped in detail the routines of the agencies and the employees' schedules before carrying out the armed approaches".
Robberies between August 2024 and June 2025
Several of the robberies took place between August 2024 and June 2025. One of the most lucrative was recorded on 5 February last year, when the group stole almost €200,000 from Novo Banco in Paio Pires, Seixal. Months later, the Crédito Agrícola branch in Vila Nova de Anços, Coimbra, was targeted in a robbery that yielded more than €166,000. This was followed by two other heists with similar amounts: €128,000 and €102,000.
Money laundering using family members
Following each robbery, the group proceeded to launder the amounts obtained. According to the charge, the suspects "proceeded to deposit cash into bank accounts, respective transfers, withdrawals, dispersal or forwarding to third parties, with the purpose of hindering financial traceability and concealing the identity of the final beneficiaries of the sums in question". The Public Prosecution Service further clarifies that they relied "on the collaboration of other accused persons, people from their relationships of trust, namely family members".
The transfers were carried out through payment and currency exchange agencies, both by the perpetrators of the robberies themselves and by accused with exclusively financial roles in the network.
Six in pre-trial detention; Public Prosecution Service seeks deportation of five
Among the 11 accused — seven men and four women — six have been in pre-trial detention since March. In addition to conviction, the Public Prosecution Service seeks the deportation of five of the suspects, considering that their stay in Portugal constitutes "a serious threat to security and public order".
Source: RTP