Who was sanctioned, and for what?

The sanctions committee COPAS of the Banco Central do Brasil (central bank) imposed fines totalling BRL 16,280,000.00 on Banco Topázio S.A.: BRL 4,560,000.00 because its monitoring system contained no rules for foreign exchange transactions to buy and sell virtual assets, BRL 3,280,000.00 because suspicious transactions were not reported, or reported late, to the financial intelligence unit Coaf (including BRL 3.05bn from one client), and BRL 8,440,000.00 because the bank had not verified the qualification of foreign exchange clients. In addition, for two years it may not carry out over-the-counter foreign exchange transactions for virtual assets in which the client acts as an unauthorised intermediary for third parties. The decision is not final.

Authority / court

Banco Central do Brasil (Comitê de Decisão de Processo Administrativo Sancionador – COPAS)

Area of law

Money laundering and terrorist financing · Suspicious activity reports

Legal basis

Lei 9.613/1998, Art. 10 III, Art. 11 II, Art. 12 II und § 2 II und IV; Circular BCB 3.978/2020, Arts. 38, 39 und 48; Lei 13.506/2017, Art. 3 XVII, Art. 5 II und IV

Action

Fine

Status of proceedings

under appeal

Sector

Financial services and insurance

Liability of senior managers

Measures against individuals are not set out here.

Original amount 16,280,000 BRL, converted at the ECB reference rate of 11 May 2026.

Checked against the official source on 3 Oct 2026 · Direct link