Police say donations made to Bolsonaro supporters through instant payment platform Pix will be central to investigators' efforts to uncover who orchestrated the insurrection.
But now, as authorities seek to identify the funders of the Brasilia riots, the same tool that helped to forge the insurgent movement will be used by investigators to take it down, around a dozen police and anti-money laundering officials told Reuters. It has been a huge success. Since its launch, over 133 million Brazilians and almost 12 million companies have made or received Pix transfers, according to the central bank. Transactions to date have totaled around $3 trillion and outpaced debit and credit card payments last year.
"I always used crowdfunding to improve the quality of the channel," said Suzin, who was targeted in 2020 by a Supreme Court probe into alleged fake news but has never been charged. "Many influencers and some everyday folks there financed themselves exclusively via Pix," Suzin said.Police, money-laundering experts and central bank officials said Pix donations will be central to investigators' efforts to uncover who orchestrated the insurrection. Several officials requested anonymity to discuss the probes underway.