How an Eswatini-based syndicate trapped Brazilian victims in a sophisticated fraud
MBABANE – Brazilian victims of the international fraud syndicate that was operating from Eswatini were ordered to sign fake ‘Confidentiality Agreements’, surrender their money and report their whereabouts every three hours while believing they were under investigation by the Brazilian Federal Police.
The scheme is detailed in fresh police court papers, which provide an insight into how the criminal network used fake government documents, bogus police identities and psychological pressure to target victims thousands of kilometres away.
According to a confirmatory affidavit by Detective Constable Ntokozo Dlamini of the Royal Eswatini Police Service’s Organised Crimes Unit, investigators uncovered the operation after examining more than 400 electronic devices seized during investigations into illegal online gambling activities in Eswatini.
The devices contained WhatsApp and Telegram conversations between members of the syndicate and victims, copies of purported government documents, confidentiality agreements, victim lists, photographs and banking information.
INTERPOL and other international agencies were involved in the forensic examination of the devices, according to the affidavit.
The investigation established that the suspects operating from Eswatini targeted victims, particularly in Brazil and India, through different forms of fraud.
However, it was the treatment of Brazilian victims that revealed one of the more unusual aspects of the investigation.
‘YOU ARE UNDER INVESTIGATION’
According to the police, the fraud began with telephone calls in which members of the network posed as insurance agents.
Potential victims were told that fraudulent activity had been committed in their names.
Their personal information was then passed to other members of the network, who assumed the identities of Brazilian Federal Police officers.
The victims were informed that they were under active criminal investigation.
They were then ordered to sign documents described as “Confidentiality Agreements”.
Police allege that the agreements were fraudulent and were used to convince victims that they were legally prohibited from discussing the purported investigation with other people.
The tactic isolated the victims while members of the network continued communicating with them.
MONEY ‘FOR SAFEKEEPING’
After convincing victims that they were dealing with Brazilian law-enforcement officials, the suspects told them that their assets had to be temporarily secured with the Brazilian Central Bank.
The victims were instructed to transfer their money into accounts supplied to them.
One document recovered from the electronic devices concerns a Brazilian woman identified in the affidavit as Cecilia Jobstraibizer Gomes.
According to the police, the document, dated July 8, 2025, instructed the victim to transfer R212 065.58 for what was described as verification of funds held in her bank accounts.
The document assured the victim that the money would be recognised as a legitimate transaction and subsequently refunded to the account from which it had originated.
Investigators allege that the document was fraudulent and designed to convince the victim that she was complying with a genuine Brazilian government investigation.
EVERY THREE HOURS
The deception then became a system of monitoring.
According to Dlamini, victims were required to provide their geo-location every three hours.
They were also required to send selfies as proof that they were complying with the instructions and maintain constant communication through dedicated WhatsApp groups.
The victims were reportedly asked questions about whether they were safe and whether they were complying with the confidentiality agreement.
They were given telephone numbers to contact people they believed were genuine Brazilian police officers.
The numbers carried the official logo of the Brazilian Federal Police.
According to the affidavit, victims even asked the officers whether they were required to report when leaving their homes to buy something.
FAKE POLICE STATION IN ESWATINI
The impersonation of Brazilian police officers did not stop at telephone and online communication.
Police discovered what appeared to be a fake police holding facility at Castle Hotel in Mbabane, where some of the foreign nationals were working and residing.
According to the affidavit, officers found five communication radios and chargers, a Brazilian Police uniform emblem, a Brazilian Police uniform and a bulletproof vest.
Photographs recovered during the investigation show a Brazilian Police badge and cap, the Brazilian State flag, a police uniform, walkie-talkies and a room containing a desk and notice board.
Investigators allege that the room was used to simulate a Brazilian police office during video calls with victims. The suspects communicated with victims from Eswatini while creating the impression that the victims were speaking directly to Brazilian law-enforcement officials.
40 BRAZILIANS IDENTIFIED
The investigation has identified approximately 40 Brazilian citizens who were ly defrauded.
According to the affidavit, INTERPOL identified the victims in Brazil, where the matter is also being investigated.
A list of the victims was submitted to the court.
The police say the electronic evidence recovered from the devices includes conversations between the perpetrators and victims, victim information, photographs of fraudulent bank details and copies of the confidentiality agreements.
FROM GAMBLING TO GLOBAL FRAUD
The latest revelations broaden the picture of the operation that initially came to public attention through investigations into illegal online gambling in Eswatini.
Foreign nationals were arrested during police raids on suspected gambling operations, including at Castle Hotel in Mbabane.
The investigation subsequently expanded as police examined hundreds of electronic devices recovered during the raids.
The Times of Eswatini previously reported that the investigation had uncovered an international fraud operation targeting victims in Brazil and other countries.
The police affidavit now alleges that the operation went beyond online gambling, with investigators identifying telecommunications fraud, online fraud, money laundering and extortion.
Investigators further found that money generated through the different schemes was channelled into a central pool and converted into cryptocurrency, including USDT, before moving through financial institutions in Abu Dhabi, the United States and eventually Eswatini.
THE DIGITAL EVIDENCE
More than 400 electronic devices were seized and subjected to forensic examination.
The police say the examination is still continuing and that a comprehensive forensic report will be produced at a later stage.
The devices contain the digital trail of the operation, including conversations, photographs, banking information, victim details and the agreements.
According to investigators, the evidence points to an operation based in Eswatini but targeting victims beyond the country’s borders.
For the Brazilian victims, the deception went beyond losing money.
They were made to believe that they were criminals under investigation by their own police, ordered to sign documents they believed were legally binding, monitored from thousands of kilometres away and persuaded to surrender their money for “safekeeping”.
Leave a comment