Brazilian police have announced plans to auction the seized assets to Trust Investing, an alleged crypto-themed financial pyramid operator.
According to news outlet Portal do Bitcoin, a federal court in Campo Grande granted authorities the right to auction “seven luxury cars,” including armored vehicles.
The assets are valued at just under $288,000 and include BMWs, a Land Rover and Porsches, as well as trucks and other cars.
Three of the vehicles were armored, the outlet noted.
The cars belong to Patrick Abrahão and his famous wife Perlla, a chart-topping pop star.
Abrahão and his pastor father Ivonélio, were accused of orchestrating the suspected scheme.
Trust Investing promised investors they could earn up to 200% on their holdings in just 10 months, but suspicions about the company began to arise when some complained they could not withdraw funds from the platform of the company.
Police opened an investigation in 2019, suspecting the company may have collected up to $359 million from its customers.
But the business continued to grow over the next few years, even expanding overseas to Cuba.
The court supported its decision by saying that there was a risk that the value of the assets would “depreciate” if they were not sold.
The assets are among a wide range of items and parts seized during police raids in October 2022.
The raids saw officers arrest a number of company directors, including Diego Chaves and Diorge Ribeiro Chaves (the former's father).
Police raids saw 41 warrants issued, with items including "cattle and sheep, luxury cars, jewellery, gems and [almost $250,000] in cryptocurrencies” seized.
When will the Brazilian police sell off the 'crypto pyramid' assets?
The assets will be sold in two auctions scheduled for mid-August.
The outlet quoted the court as saying:
“There are serious risks of asset devaluation [...] because of [...] inevitable aging if they remain in disuse.
The Trust Investing masterminds are still awaiting trial, and the court noted that if they were acquitted, the funds recovered from the auction would be returned to the defendant.
But if they are found guilty, the state will take control of the funds.
Lawmakers demanded that the alleged operators of the crypto-pyramid appear before Parliament to answer questions.
Late last month, Argentine police arrested a number of executives from another suspected Brazilian crypto fraud operator – Braiscompany – as they attempted to flee Brazil.