Brazilian lawmakers are working on a set of new penalties for money laundering with cryptocurrencies, the penalties are part of a new piece of legislation that also regulates crypto trading and payments.
According to an official announcement on Sept. 29, Brazil’s Special Committee of the Chamber of Deputies has passed a bill that dramatically increases penalties for financial crimes involving cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).
The most recent regulatory changes are included in bill 2303/15, which raise the fines from one-third to two-thirds of the amount of laundered money.
In addition to a fine, the measure proposes increasing minimum prison terms from three to four years and increasing maximum prison terms from ten to sixteen years and eight months. The bill will be discussed further by the Chamber’s Plenary, according to the release.
The new bill, according to federal deputy Aureo Ribeiro, would help the state safeguard Brazilians against crypto scams, noting that “financial pyramid schemes with cryptocurrency” affected more than 300,000 people in Rio de Janeiro.
“People have nowhere to turn since there is no regulation. In Brazil, the market will advance and adjust. Profiteers will no longer use technology to deceive millions of Brazilians, according to Ribeiro.
Other elements of the bill, which covers larger cryptocurrency businesses including trading, custody, fiat exchanges, and payments, have Ribeiro positive. Ribeiro stated that once the measure is approved into law, Bitcoin will be accepted as payment in Brazil.
Recently, there have been some indicators of increased cryptocurrency development and use in Brazil. Roberto Campos Neto, the president of Brazil’s central bank, called on the government to embrace the crypto market by altering local legislation in August.
Following the listings of several other cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds earlier this year, the Brazil Stock Exchange commenced trading of another Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in June.
