The Refit Group, a company in the fuel sector that was the target of a mega interstate operation this Thursday morning (27), caused a loss of more than R$26 billion to public coffers throughout Brazil.
A CNN Brazil found that the fraud exceeded the loss of R$9 billion to the state of São Paulo alone, between the years 2007 and 2024.
According to investigations, in addition to being one of the largest ICMS (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) debtors in São Paulo, the group would also be one of the largest tax debtors in the Union.
The IRS points out that the investigated group maintains financial relationships with companies and people linked to Operation Hidden Carbon, carried out in August 2025which investigates infiltration of the PCC (First Command of the Capital) e fraud in the fuel sector.
Revenue auditors also identified that the group moved more than R$70 billion in just one yearusing its own companies, investment funds and offshore companies — including an exporter outside Brazil — to hide and shield profits.
The federal agency also identified the organization as a “contumacious debtor”, which applies to those who repeatedly and deliberately fail to pay taxes, accumulating debts that do not result from occasional delays, but from a continuous practice of non-compliance with tax obligations.
A CNN Brazil try to contact the Refit Group for a position. The space remains open.
Megaoperation
The operation, called Poço de Lobato, targets 190 companies and people linked to the companysuspected of being part of the criminal organization and committing various crimes against the economic and tax order, money laundering, among other infractions.
According to the MPSP, more than 621 public security agents carry out 126 search and seizure warrants in six states and the Federal District: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia and Maranhão.
The action is the result of an existing investigation within the scope of CIRA-SP (Interinstitutional Committee for the Recovery of Assets) in partnership with the Federal Revenue Service and the National Treasury Attorney’s Office to determine the existence of a criminal organization formed by partners, directors, administrators and other members of companies allegedly involved in structured ICMS tax fraud.