Brazil Drops Anti-Mafia Agency but Targets the Billions Behind Organized Crime

Brazil’s Justice Ministry has decided not to create a new “anti-mafia” agency, even though the idea was part of a draft crime bill.

Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski confirmed the change after pressure from the Federal Police, internal legal doubts, and fiscal limits. Officials argued that a new bureaucracy with jobs and salaries clashed with current budget controls and administrative reform.

The proposed agency would have copied aspects of Italy’s Direzione Investigativa Antimafia and brought more centralization to the fight against gangs.

Prosecutors supported the model, but the Federal Police feared overlapping powers and a loss of autonomy. By shelving the agency, the government avoided a clash between institutions.

The draft law still delivers tougher tools. It raises sentences for organized crime: the current three to eight years becomes five to ten, while qualified cases such as territorial control or violent intimidation could bring twelve to twenty years.

The bill also allows infiltration through front companies, expands penalties for online crime, and imposes tighter rules on laundering money with cryptoassets.

The government highlights asset seizure as a main weapon. The bill accelerates confiscation and management of properties, companies, and accounts tied to gangs. It also tightens the prison regime for leaders of factions, reducing privileges inside penitentiaries.

Officials say the bill complements ENFOC, a national program launched in 2023 with 900 million reais from the National Public Security Fund to integrate law enforcement agencies. Together, these efforts aim to cut off the money that sustains criminal networks.

The scale of the problem explains the urgency. Research by the Brazilian Forum on Public Security shows organized crime earns about 146.8 billion reais a year from lawful product chains such as fuel, beverages, gold, and tobacco.

That is more than ten times the revenue these groups make from cocaine trafficking. The figures show how deeply gangs penetrate the legal economy and why asset seizure and financial disruption matter as much as police raids.

The real story behind the debate is less about institutions and more about money. By avoiding a turf war with the Federal Police, the government kept political peace, but it did not weaken the core of its plan: to attack the financial backbone of criminal groups.

If Congress approves the bill, prosecutors will gain clearer definitions and judges sharper tools, with a focus on revenue streams that now rival large industries.

Related coverage: Brazil’s Banco Master Faces Breakup as Central Bank Weighs Risks · Brazil’s Financial Morning Call for August 26, 2025 · Brazil and Israel Lower Diplomatic Ties After Ambassador Dispute · Lula’s Confrontation with Israel Turns into Diplomatic and Economic Rift

More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief