The São Paulo State Prosecutor's Office (MPSP) has charged former state lawmaker Arthur do Val, known by his YouTube persona Mamãe Falei, with incitement to crime. Prosecutor Roberto Bacal, of the Special Criminal Court (a branch that handles minor offenses), filed the complaint on Tuesday (25), based on comments do Val made in a video on his YouTube channel about Operação Carbono Oculto (Operation Hidden Carbon), according to reporting by Metrópoles confirmed in an official MPSP statement.
According to the complaint, do Val said in the video: "Oh! The Faria Lima scumbag who launders money for organized crime has to be killed". The remark targeted financial market operators investigated for laundering money for a scheme that, according to the task force behind the operation, includes cells run by the PCC, Brazil's largest prison gang. Prosecutors say the statement amounts to publicly inciting crime, an offense under Article 286 of the Brazilian Penal Code punishable by three to six months in detention or a fine.
Case timeline
- August 2025: the MPSP, federal prosecutors, the Federal Police and other agencies launch Operation Hidden Carbon, targeting fraud and money laundering in the fuel sector;
- August 25, 2026: prosecutor Roberto Bacal files the incitement complaint against Arthur do Val, based on the YouTube video;
- August 26, 2026: the case becomes public in reports by Metrópoles, VEJA and Brasil 247.
Launched in August 2025, Operation Hidden Carbon brought together some 1,400 agents from the MPSP, federal prosecutors, the Federal Police, the Civil and Military Police, the Federal Revenue Service, oil regulator ANP, the state attorney general's office and the state finance department, with support from the Gaeco organized crime unit. At the time, the task force called it the largest operation against organized crime in Brazilian history. According to the Federal Revenue Service, a network of 1,200 gas stations moved more than R$ 52 billion between 2020 and 2024 while paying only R$ 90 million (0.17%) in taxes. To launder the proceeds, the group allegedly used 40 investment funds holding R$ 30 billion, managed by operators on Faria Lima, São Paulo's financial hub.
Do Val is a former São Paulo state lawmaker whose mandate was revoked after leaked audios in which he made sexist remarks about Ukrainian refugees. He is barred from elected office until 2030 and, in July this year, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes upheld the revocation. Now a member of the Missão party, according to Metrópoles, he is trying to return to politics.
Metrópoles said it sought comment from do Val about the complaint but received no response by publication time, adding that it remains open to his statement. With the complaint filed, the next step lies with the São Paulo courts, which must decide whether to accept the accusation. Only if it is accepted will do Val formally become a defendant. No date has been set for that decision.