Brazil charges 22 with laundering $20 million for gangs

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.