RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil's federal police launched a raid on Thursday targeting former Americanas executives as part of a probe into an accounting fraud that led the retail giant to file for bankruptcy last year, they said in a statement.

The police were serving two arrest warrants and 15 search warrants ordered by a Rio de Janeiro court, they said, without naming those targeted. The court also ordered the freezing of some 500 million reais in assets owned by the former executives.

"Those being investigated are responsible for the biggest fraud in the history of the Brazilian financial market," the police said, noting the scandal had an estimated impact of 25.3 billion reais ($4.58 billion).

  - Reuters