TechFlow, December 1 — According to Dlnews, a Brazilian federal court has sentenced 14 individuals for laundering over $95 million in proceeds from drug trafficking and kidnapping using Bitcoin. Two ringleaders have received prison sentences of more than 21 years each—one being a prison security official—while the other 12 were sentenced to between 10 and 17 years in prison.
The criminal network operated between April 2019 and July 2024 in the states of Minas Gerais and Paraná, primarily tasked with concealing the nature, origin, flow, and ownership of assets derived from cross-border drug transactions and violent crimes, including ransom payments from kidnappings in Rio de Janeiro. Investigations revealed that the group used Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to launder money for a larger criminal network, operating an "accounting department" through fake tax identification numbers, falsified accounting records, and multiple shell companies, while posing as legitimate businesses in industries such as food trading, livestock, luxury goods, and swimwear.
