Brazil Mining Regulator Chief Indicted Over Iron Ore Scheme

Business

The head of the Brazil mining regulator has been indicted on corruption-related charges, a blow to the agency that polices the world’s largest iron ore export base.

Federal police named Mauro Sousa, director-general of the National Mining Agency, in a case alleging an illegal iron ore scheme in Minas Gerais. He has run the agency since 2022.

He was one of fifty-one people indicted across two linked investigations, named Rejeito and Parcours. Another agency director, Caio Trivellato, was also indicted, on a corruption charge.

The allegations strike at the heart of how mining is licensed. Police say a criminal group corrupted officials to obtain irregular permits for iron ore in protected areas, using environmental recovery plans as a cover.

The mechanism was disguise, police say. Plans meant to recover and close mines were allegedly used as a front to extract and sell ore from areas that were off-limits, including land near conservation units.

What is new is how high the case now reaches. Earlier phases of the probe touched lower officials and businessmen, but this round names the agency’s director-general for the first time.

What the Brazil mining regulator indictment alleges

Investigators describe a close and informal channel between Sousa and a mining company, Empabra. They cite messages, meetings and sixty-one phone calls logged between 2023 and 2025.

According to the police, Sousa passed internal information, forwarded company demands to technical staff, and commented on draft documents before they were filed. He is accused of administrative advocacy and influence peddling.

Sousa denies the accusations. He says he has not yet seen the full report and that he had himself flagged suspicious conduct to federal auditors and police, only to be sidelined within the agency.

The net is wide. Among the others indicted are a mining businessman, Lucas Kallas, and a former aide to a senator, in a web that investigators trace back to operations dating to 2020.

Why it matters to investors

Brazil is the world’s second-largest iron ore exporter, and the ANM is the gatekeeper for every license and concession in that trade. Its credibility underpins how outside capital prices regulatory risk in the sector.

The case lands on an agency already described by industry as stretched thin, buried under a surge of critical-mineral filings and short on staff. An integrity question at the very top is a different order of problem.

It shifts the worry from slow permits to whether the rules are being applied straight at all.

There is an environmental edge too. The scheme centered on Serra do Curral, a protected landmark, in a state still scarred by the Mariana and Brumadinho dam disasters, where lax oversight carries a heavy memory.

The case also brushes against politics. Reporting has linked one indicted businessman to donations to the party of the mines and energy minister, widening the story beyond the agency itself.

For now, the agency is keeping its distance. The ANM said it had not been formally told of the conclusions, and stressed that its director-general had been outvoted on the board decision at the center of one case.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who runs the Brazil mining regulator?

Mauro Henrique Moreira Sousa has been director-general of the National Mining Agency, known as the ANM, since 2022. He was indicted by federal police on June 27 over an alleged illegal mining scheme, and has denied wrongdoing, saying he had not seen the investigation’s report.

What is the scheme about?

Police allege a criminal organization obtained irregular licenses to extract iron ore in the protected Serra do Curral area of Minas Gerais, using mine-recovery plans as a front. Fifty-one people were indicted across two linked operations, including businessmen and current and former public officials.

What charges does the agency chief face?

Federal police listed charges including administrative advocacy, influence peddling, and membership of a criminal organization. The agency said it had not been formally notified and noted that Sousa was outvoted in the board decision at the center of one case.

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