Brazil: Judge Lifts Arrest Warrant for Gusttavo Lima over Illegal Gambling

An arrest warrant over suspicion of money laundering and ties to illegal gambling issued against a famous Brazilian singer was overturned earlier this week.

Allegations Against Gusttavo Lima Result in Pre-trial Arrest Warrant

On Monday this week, Judge Andréa Calado da Cruz issued a pre-trial arrest warrant against the popular singer, Gusttavo Lima. The order stemmed from allegations that the famous singer was involved in a money laundering scheme related to illegal online gambling.

Moreover, the star singer who has some 13 million listeners monthly on Spotify, was also accused of harboring the owner of an online gambling business. Allegations against Lima claimed that he engaged in money laundering via online gambling games and companies related to him received millions of dollars.

As Lima recently performed and even traveled to Miami, the United States, and came back, the order against him was quickly overturned. On Tuesday, an appeals court judge overturned the pretrial detention order against the famous singer, local media outlets reported.

The decision to overturn the initial order came from Judge Eduardo Guilliod, a report from Pledge Times suggests. In his decision to overturn the detention order against Lima, the appellate judge argued that it was based on “merely inappropriate conclusions and generic considerations.”

The latest development comes at a time when banks in Brazil recorded a rapid rise in betting. Earlier this month, financial institutions in the county estimated that Brazilians wagered approximately $12.2 billion at betting platforms for the financial year that ended in June.

The high expenses come ahead of the expected regulated launch of online gambling planned for January 2025. In that line of thought, Brazil’s Ministry of Finance recently warned unlicensed operators, asking them to apply for a license or face suspensions effective from October 1. The move came in preparation for the country’s iGaming market launch.

The Famous Singer Rejects the Accusations

Focusing once again on the popular singer, a representative of Lima deemed the pre-trial detention order “unfair.” Moreover, the singer’s defense argued that the order lacked “legal grounds.”

“Gusttavo Lima would never be involved in any act contrary to the law of our country and there is no involvement on his part or that of his companies,“

reads a statement released by Gusttavo Lima’s defense

In addition, the defense of the famous singer wrote: “The artist’s innocence will be duly proven, because we believe in Brazilian justice.” The lawyers claimed that Lima was never involved in any unlawful acts in Brazil, rejecting the allegations about the singer’s ties to money laundering and illegal gambling.