The Brazilian House of Representatives is trying to include cryptocurrencies in the country’s anti-fraud enforcement toolkit.
A key House committee voted to allow judges to freeze suspects’ cryptocurrency holdings and impose prison sentences of up to 10 years for wire fraud. The draft law still needs to go through several approval stages before it becomes law.
How does Brazil handle cryptocurrencies in fraud investigations?
The official news service of the House of Representatives announced that the Finance and Taxation Committee Draft Law No. 5819/2025 was approvedwritten by Rep. Coronel Crisostomo and supported by Committee Rapporteur Kim Katagiri.
Under the new law, both the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code will raise the range of penalties for fraud crimes committed via social media, telephone, email or other digital channels from the current window of four to eight years to six to ten years. The penalty also includes fines.
Judges are set to get new powers enabling them to order the freezing of bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets held by suspects as a precaution. Courts will also be able to block access to properties, prohibit contact with victims, and restrict the suspect’s use of social media and digital payment systems.
In cases where the victim’s losses exceed $100 minimum wage or when investigators can prove that the perpetrator is a flight risk, the court can impose preventive detention. If the fraud involves an organized criminal organisation, the courts must now add a third to the base penalty.
Brazil refuses to tolerate cryptocurrency crimes
Brazil has tried that Reducing the spread of crypto crimes Not only through legislation, but also through operations on the ground. For example, in September 2025, the Federal Police implemented Losocoin process. The target was a network accused of laundering more than 3 billion Brazilian reais (about $540 million) through cryptocurrencies, shell companies and tokens.
Ultimately, 11 individuals were arrested, and the assets of 65 individuals and entities were frozen.
The enforcement chain dates back to 2022, when Brazilian Federal Police and US Homeland Security Investigations raided locations linked to Franciselli Valdivino da Silva, known as “Bitcoin SheikhHe was accused of running a transnational cryptocurrency fraud network that allegedly stole nearly $800 million from investors across multiple countries.
Recently, three operators of Braiscompany Ponzi scheme He received combined prison sentences of 170 years after defrauding about 20,000 investors of about 1.1 billion Brazilian reais ($190 million).
Bill No. 5819/2025 now heads to the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee (CCJ). If it exceeds that level, it must pass votes in both the full House and the Senate before arriving at the president’s desk for his signature.
