Two law-enforcement officials reflect on a Brazilian corruption scandal… Their thesis is that Brazil suffers from “institutionalised crime”, by which they mean “a fraudulent system that operates with the blessing on the nation's power structures and the support of a network that pervades all three powers of the state… But their pleas for the independence of the Federal Police, and for more resources for the force, are well made. They are particularly scathing about the distorted priorities imposed by the war on drugs: tens of thousands of poor Brazilians have been locked up while the crimes of the rich and powerful have often gone unpunished.

The Economist

Uncovering a corruption scandal in Brazil… As senior investigators in several of the most high-profile Lava Jato (Car Wash) investigations, Jorge Pontes and Márcio Anselmo are well-placed observers of how Brazil's corrupt politico-industrial complex functions.

Patrick Wilcken, Times Literary Supplement

Operation Car Wash presents an in-depth analysis of corruption and the case that shook Brazil … The authors provide an unparalleled view into what they term “institutionalized crime” as opposed to “organized crime.” The latter is the stuff of Al Capone-the former is what happens when the whole of government and whole of society colludes into expropriating the wealth of the state for personal gain. It is rare to get such an inside look at institutionalized corruption-corruption that runs from the legislative branch through to the office of the president, aided and abetted by the judiciary, and facilitated by corporate titans.

Joshua Huminski, Diplomatic Courier

The book reads like a victory lap around Operation Car Wash.

Rachel Nolan, London Review of Books

Pontes and Anselmo draw on their decades of experience in the Federal Police to offer a riveting account of the insidious insider game of institutionalized corruption in Brazil. The authors' decades of experience in law enforcement enables them to authoritatively demonstrate how the political system has repeatedly quashed anti-corruption efforts, across a range of different presidential administrations, both before and after the massive Car Wash investigations. Readers of this fast-paced book will never think about Brazilian democracy, or systemic corruption, in the same way again.

Matthew M. Taylor, School of International Service, American University

Jorge Pontes and Marcio Anselmo have completed a necessary, detailed and brilliant job with the demonstration of the mechanisms of institutional corruption in Brazil. Going from the details of complex investigations to a refined analysis of a system that undermine democracy is no easy task.

This book is not only the best analysis of recent Brazilian situation, but rings the bell for international research to assess every country's level of institutional corruption.

Nicolas Giannakopoulos, Organized Crime Observatory, Switzerland