Central Bank: Stronger fraud rules, immediate account closure
The Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) and the National Monetary Council (CMN) announced on Monday, November 3, two resolutions that strengthen policies for the prevention of fraud, money laundering, and irregular financial operations in the country’s financial system.
The new provisions —BCB Resolution No. 518/2025 and CMN Resolution No. 5,261/2025— will come into effect on December 1 and update previous regulations (BCB No. 96/2021 and CMN No. 4,753/2019). Their objective is to improve the supervision of bank and payment accounts, as well as to authorize the compulsory closure of those involved in suspicious activities.
According to the text published in the Diário Oficial da União, financial and payment institutions must immediately close accounts when “serious irregularities in the information provided by the account holder” are detected, or when there is evidence that the client is conducting financial or payment services without legal authorization, including front operations or transactions on behalf of third parties.
Among the cases considered serious irregularities is the misuse of CPF or CNPJ, according to the criteria of the Federal Revenue Service. Likewise, the use of accounts to make payments or settlements on behalf of third parties is prohibited, a practice that hinders the identification of the true financial responsible parties and may constitute the crime of money laundering.
The resolutions also establish that banks and payment entities must create and document their own criteria to identify these practices, based on information from public and private sources. Such criteria must be approved by management and archived for a minimum of ten years, remaining available for inspection by the Central Bank.
According to financial sector experts, the new rules standardize the response of institutions to signs of fraud, strengthening the security of the National Financial System (SFN) and the Brazilian Payment System (SPB). Additionally, they reduce the margin of discretion by establishing clear technical parameters for account closure.
The resolutions were signed by the Director of Regulation of the Central Bank, Gilneu Francisco Astolfi Vivan, and by the president of the BCB, Gabriel Galípolo, who emphasized that the measures “are part of an ongoing effort to increase the reliability, transparency, and integrity of financial operations in the country.”
With the entry into force of these rules, Brazil takes another step in strengthening its regulatory framework against illicit activities, in line with international standards for financial compliance and money laundering prevention (AML/CFT).
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