Fourteen members of a Brazilian criminal syndicate were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 to 21 years for laundering $95 million using Bitcoin...

According to DL News, a Brazilian federal court has sentenced 14 people for using Bitcoin to launder over $95 million in drug trafficking and kidnapping profits. Two ringleaders were sentenced to more than 21 years in prison, one of whom was a prison security officer. The remaining 12 were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 10 to 17 years. The criminal group operated in Minas Gerais and Paraná states from April 2019 to July 2024, primarily to conceal the nature, origin, flow, and ownership of assets obtained through cross-border drug trafficking and violent crimes, including ransom payments from the Rio de Janeiro kidnapping case. 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 masquerading as businesses in food trade, livestock farming, luxury goods, and swimwear.