A federal court in Brazil ordered the arrest of two branch managers of Banco Bradesco SA and a businessman over an alleged approximately 1 billion-real money laundering scheme, Exame reported.

In a statement, federal prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro had said May 28 that managers Tânia Maria Aragão de Souza Fonseca and Robson Luiz Cunha Silva both played "relevant roles in a sophisticated money laundering scheme," which could amount to 989.6 billion reais. Businessman Júlio César Pinto de Andrade was also targeted for detention.

The investigators, who are tied to the Lava Jato corruption probe, or Car Wash, also accused the financial institution of failing to conduct proper compliance controls over the banking accounts involved. They concluded that "collected evidence leaves no doubt" that banks "did not comply with compliance duties," particularly singling out Bradesco.

Sought for comment, the São Paulo-based institution reportedly said in a statement that it fully complies with ethical conduct and governance norms and that it will respond when information becomes "officially available."

As of May 28, US$1 was equivalent to 4.02 Brazilian reais.