BRASÍ LIA—The Posto da Torre, or Tower Gas Station, inspired the code name for a sweeping corruption probe into Brazilian oil giant Petró leo Brasileiro S.A., a case that has led to criminal charges against some in the highest echelons of the country's business and political elite.

The station's notoriety hasn't stopped customers in Brazil's capital from lining up for its cheap gas and fried snacks.

About 2 miles west of the city's main government buildings, the Tower Gas Station played a central role in the investigation dubbed "Operation Car Wash," according to authorities. Prosecutors say money launderers used a currency exchange and money-wiring service on the premises to help Petrobras executives transfer money from the oil company into overseas bank accounts.

That currency exchange is now boarded up, and the station's owner, Carlos Chater, is in jail on money-laundering and corruption charges. Mr. Chater's sister, Katia Nasr, is running the rest of the business in his absence. But she faces her own legal troubles. She has been charged with money laundering, belonging to a criminal organization and tax evasion, and is out on bail.

In a recent interview in her tidy, spacious office above the station, a defiant Ms. Nasr said the currency exchange was "totally, 100% legal." She denied the charges against her and Mr. Chater. "He's not linked to the Petrobras case," Ms. Nasr said of her brother. "They think Carlos is a big fish, but he isn't."

Neither Mr. Chater nor his lawyer could be reached to comment.

Named for a giant nearby TV tower, the station looks pretty much like any other. It has 16 pumps and a convenience store with a tiny counter where customers can order coffee and pastries. The sign reads Cyber Café but there are no computers in sight.

There is also a separate snack bar called the Pasteleria Torre that sells pasteis—deep-fried rectangles of dough stuffed with cheese and meat. The snacks gets rave reviews and draw lines of customers throughout the day.

A laundry is also on the premises, where customers can drop off dry cleaning or wash a load of clothes for about $10. Curiously, there is no carwash; the owners replaced it years ago with more gas pumps. Prosecutors declined to say why they kept the name even though the car wash is long gone, or why they didn't name it Operation Laundromat.

Operation Car Wash began when investigators tracking the activities of a group of suspected money launderers, including Mr. Chater, homed in on the gas station he owned.

They say they discovered a link between one of the suspected money launderers and a Petrobras executive, who was eventually arrested. As part of a plea deal, the executive told prosecutors about a yearslong corruption scheme in which construction companies colluded to overcharge Petrobras for contracts, then shared some of the ill-gotten gains with Petrobras executives and politicians.

Four former Petrobras executives have been charged with various crimes, and roughly 50 current and former politicians have been implicated in the scheme. Petrobras in April wrote off $17 billion in corruption-related costs and costs associated with inflated contracts.

Petrobras says it was a victim of the scheme and that it is cooperating with authorities.

On Friday, in the latest phase of Operation Car Wash, the chief executives for two of Brazil's biggest construction companies, Odebrecht SA and Andrade Gutierrez, along with nine other staffers from those companies, were arrested on suspicion of money laundering and corruption.

Some of the executives have denied the allegations; others are cooperating with authorities.

While the overall operation has become known as Operation Car Wash, prosecutors also gave cheeky code names to individual phases of the case. When the police arrested a former Petrobras executive who had blue eyes and favored the music of Frank Sinatra, the case was called Operation My Way. An investigation into another person suspected of moving cash to Italy was named Dolce Vita.

Another phase, Operation What Kind of Country Is This? was so named because an accused oil executive, indignant while talking to his lawyer, used the phrase just before authorities hauled him off to prison. That executive later agreed to return just under $100 million he had amassed in overseas accounts.

Despite its purported ties to the corruption scandal, the Tower Gas Station remains a fixture in Brasí lia.

On a recent evening, during a torrential downpour, every table next to the pumps was packed with people drinking beer and munching on pasteis. A steady line formed at the snack kiosk. The gas fumes didn't seem to bother anyone.

Elser Costa, 51, a carpenter, was eating a fried meat pie with a friend. He knew the gas station was linked to the corruption scandal but said that hadn't changed his opinion about the place. "The service is still good," he said.

Online reviewers have given the station high ratings. It gets four stars out of five on Yelp.

"Without a doubt, the best gas station in Brasí lia," reviewer Olga R. wrote late last year.

Ms. Nasr's 19 year-old son, Yusuf, helps run the station. To attract customers, he keeps the gas about four cents cheaper than other stations in town. Taxi drivers and motorcyclists get an additional discount. He recently came up with a promotion in which clients who spend at least 50 reais (about $16) on gas are entered into a raffle for a new red Volkswagen Golf or a Honda CG 125 motorcycle. The prizes are parked at the station, adorned with ribbons. The raffle will take place in August.

The possibility of jail for his mother and his uncle haven't deterred him, Mr. Nasr said. His mother maintains her innocence and hasn't been convicted.

"We're going to keep working in the same way and wait until my uncle comes out," he said.

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