Brazilian, US police bust international fraud ring
26 Feb 2008, 0339 hrs IST,AFP

From: The Times Of India.
SAO PAULO: Brazilian police said on Monday they and US counterparts have broken a sophisticated international ring that made millions defrauding individuals and companies in Australia, Britain, Spain, the United States and Asia.

Thirty people were arrested in Brazil and two Brazilians were arrested by the FBI in Miami, the Brazilian federal police said in a statement.

The network, whose base of operations used to be an office in Sao Paulo before moving to Buenos Aires, employed telemarketers of various nationalities to flog non-existent investments on financial markets.

"The gang used technology to set up (Internet) sites of fake mergers and acquisitions companies, and US and Asian regulatory agencies, as well as various contracts and documents to fool foreign owners of shares with low liquidity," the statement said.

Victims were lured with offers high returns - but first had to deposit funds to cover "brokerage fees and taxes".