Article

Amanda de Mello Tavares Azenha; Fernanda Cigainski Lisbinski

DOI: 10.22167/2675-6528-202601596

Article derived from a Final Course Work (TCC), with content based on the student’s original work and adapted to the editorial format of the E&S Magazine with the support of the ResumeAI tool, an artificial intelligence solution developed by the Pecege Institute for textual synthesis and organization.

Abstract

This work analyzed the effectiveness of the Brazilian regulatory framework for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML-CTF), focusing on Law No. 9.613/1998 and Central Bank resolutions, in light of the challenges posed by the disruptive digitalization of the instant payment system (Pix). The methodology employed a hybrid approach, combining documentary and normative analysis, quantitative data collection from the Central Bank and Serasa Experian, and qualitative research with 21 compliance sector specialists. The investigation demonstrated that, although Pix has promoted financial inclusion and operational efficiency, it has also intensified challenges such as the dispersal of illicit assets (“Smurfing”) and the use of “pass-through accounts” due to its immediate liquidity. The results indicated that 81% of the financial institutions consulted made significant investments in technology and risk culture to adapt to instantaneity; however, recovery mechanisms such as MED 2.0 showed moderate effectiveness against the speed of transactions. It was concluded that mitigating money laundering risks in the Pix ecosystem depends on the evolution of real-time behavioral monitoring mechanisms and less bureaucratic institutional collaboration, integrating Network Analysis and Open Finance to overcome the limitations of traditional control barriers.

Keywords: Central Bank; Compliance; Money laundering; AML-CFT; National Financial System.

1. Introduction

The prevention of money laundering and the combating of terrorist financing (AML-CFT) constitutes an essential pillar for the integrity and stability of the global financial system. In Brazil, the regulatory framework governing this area is primarily outlined by Law No. 9,613, of March 3, 1998, known as the Money Laundering Law. This legislation establishes the guidelines for the typification of money laundering or concealment of assets, rights, and values crimes, as well as preventive measures to curb the use of the financial system in illicit activities (BRAZIL, 1998).

This legislation also established the Council of Financial Activities Control (COAF), an agency responsible for overseeing and monitoring suspicious operations. The Money Laundering Law, with its complementary provisions, consolidated legal mechanisms to repress and punish such practices, protecting the integrity of the national market (BRASIL, 1998). The increasing complexity of these crimes, driven by globalization, demands updated legislation and robust institutional controls, with intense international cooperation (Silva, 2014; Figueiredo, 2009).

In this constantly evolving scenario, the Central Bank of Brazil launched Pix in November 2020, an initiative that aimed to modernize the country’s payment system. The objective was to promote greater financial inclusion, in addition to offering agility, security, and practicality in financial transactions, allowing real-time payments and transfers, at any day or time (BANCO CENTRAL DO BRASIL, 2025). Pix quickly established itself as one of the main payment methods, driving digitalization and operational efficiency in Brazil.

The adoption of Pix resulted in exponential growth in the volume of operations between 2020 and 2025, surpassing other traditional payment instruments (BANCO CENTRAL DO BRASIL, 2025). This advance promoted financial inclusion, bringing millions of people into the banking system and reducing the average cost per transaction for retailers (SERASA EXPERIAN, 2025). The evolution of transactions in 2025 is linked to data sharing, where the payment history via Pix defines the user’s credit limit in real-time.

However, the immediacy and capillarity of Pix, although beneficial for the economy, also brought significant challenges to the AML-FT system. The instant payment system scaled up problems such as the fragmentation of illicit assets, known as “Smurfing”, and the use of “pass-through accounts”, making traceability and recovery of funds difficult. Data from Serasa Experian (2025) indicate a significant increase in financial fraud records, with more than half of the population (fifty-one percent) stating they were victims of fraud in 2024, and fifty-four point two percent suffering monetary losses, many of them associated with scams involving Pix.

The immediate liquidity and high frequency of transactions via Pix have increased the complexity of financial monitoring, pressuring traditional control mechanisms. Financial crime, by mimicking the behavior of common Pix users through small transactions and high frequency, demands a new monitoring paradigm, beyond value limits or static rules. The effectiveness of combating money laundering, in this context, depends on the evolution of real-time behavioral monitoring mechanisms, technological interoperability, and less bureaucratic inter-institutional collaboration.

Faced with this complex scenario, it becomes crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of the Brazilian regulatory framework for AML-FT (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism), Law No. 9.613/1998 and the Central Bank’s resolutions, against the challenges imposed by the disruptive digitalization of Pix. The research aims to fill the gap between regulation and operational dynamics, considering the normative, technological, and behavioral dimensions. Mitigating money laundering risks in Pix demands the evolution of control models, from isolated transactions to an approach oriented by financial links and networks, integrating Network Analysis and Open Finance. The present study aims to analyze the effectiveness of the Brazilian regulatory framework for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-FT), specifically Law No. 9.613/1998 and the Central Bank’s resolutions, in light of the disruptive digitalization of the instant payment system (Pix).

2. Material and Methods

The present research adopted a mixed-methods methodological approach, combining qualitative and quantitative procedures. The objective was to analyze the impacts of the implementation of the Pix instant payment system on the Brazilian framework for preventing and repressing money laundering. This design was justified by the complexity of the phenomenon investigated, which encompasses normative, operational, technological, and behavioral dimensions, which could not be adequately understood through a single research method.

Initially, a documentary and normative research was carried out, focused on the analysis of current legislation and infra-legal acts that structure the money laundering prevention system in Brazil. Law No. 9.613/1998 and its amendments were examined, as well as resolutions and normative instructions from the Central Bank of Brazil and the National Monetary Council, including BCB Resolutions No. 30/2020, No. 147/2021, No. 312/2023, and CMN Resolution No. 4.970/2021. This stage aimed to map the regulatory framework for defense, identifying legal and administrative instruments to mitigate risks of illicit use of the financial system.

The qualitative approach was employed in this phase to understand the normative and institutional evolution, as well as the underlying rationale for regulatory measures. This allowed for a critical interpretation of the alignment between the Brazilian legal framework and international recommendations for combating money laundering, notably those emanating from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). This analysis deepened the understanding of the foundations and logic behind the regulations.

Concurrently, a quantitative analysis of secondary data was developed, extracted from the open data portals of the Central Bank of Brazil and public reports from Serasa Experian. Within the scope of the Central Bank, the Payment Methods Statistics reports, referring to the period from November 2020 to December 2025, were analyzed. The objective was to compare the monthly volume of transactions made through Pix, cards (credit and debit), and TED/DOC, identifying changes in financial movement patterns.

Additionally, data from the Serasa Experian Identity and Fraud Report, with a temporal scope of March 2025, were examined. This analysis sought to investigate the evolution of financial fraud in Brazil, its main types, the profile of victims, and the associated economic impacts. The comparison between the growth in the volume of instant transactions and fraud indicators aimed to identify relevant correlations and trends, without the intention of establishing a direct causal relationship.

To reduce the gap between the normative framework and operational reality, a field survey was conducted using a structured electronic questionnaire with semi-structured elements. Data collection occurred online, using the Google Forms platform, from January 15 to 29, 2026. The instrument was directed at 21 financial sector professionals, especially those linked to compliance and money laundering prevention areas, and at representatives of regulatory bodies, selected for their technical expertise.

The questionnaire was predominantly composed of closed-ended questions, organized into ordinal scales and multiple-choice questions, aiming to standardize responses and enable comparative analysis of participant perceptions. Before starting, a Free and Informed Consent Form was presented, ensuring voluntary participation, anonymity of responses, and the use of data exclusively for academic purposes, in accordance with the principles of privacy and data protection. The analysis of the field research data was performed using the reports and statistical graphs automatically generated by the platform.

The results obtained were organized and analyzed in an integrated and comparative manner, through data triangulation, confronting regulatory requirements, statistical data, and expert perceptions. This methodological procedure enabled the identification of regulatory gaps, practical limitations of asset recovery mechanisms, as well as trends and opportunities for improving the Brazilian system for the prevention and repression of money laundering. The empirical research was based on a restricted and non-probabilistic sample, and the quantitative analysis on aggregated secondary data, limiting the statistical generalization of the findings and the inference of direct causal relationships.

3. Results and Discussion

The analysis of the effectiveness of the Brazilian regulatory framework for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT) revealed that, although the legislation is robust in its foundations, the operational dynamics of Pix pose significant challenges. The research findings, which combined documentary analysis, quantitative data, and expert insights, demonstrate that the instantaneity and capillarity of Pix, while promoting inclusion and efficiency, also intensify vulnerabilities for money laundering, requiring continuous adaptation of control and monitoring mechanisms. The research sought to understand how the financial system and the regulator have responded to this new reality.

The Brazilian normative framework for AML-CFT, anchored in Law No. 9.613/1998, established the foundations for the typification of money laundering crimes and the creation of the Council of Financial Activities Control (COAF), a central body in the oversight of suspicious operations. The 2012 reform, through Law No. 12.683/2012, expanded the list of predicate offenses, facilitated asset freezing, and increased administrative fines, aligning Brazil with the international recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). These changes were crucial for closing loopholes and strengthening the repression of complex corruption schemes and financial crimes, consolidating a more robust and comprehensive normative model.

In addition to legislation, the resolutions of the Central Bank of Brazil have played a fundamental role in adapting the National Financial System (SFN) to the challenges of digitalization. BCB Resolution nº 30/2020, for example, established procedures for the authorization of financial institutions, requiring proof of lawful origin of funds and detailed business plans. CMN Resolution nº 4,970/2021, in turn, sought to filter the entry of new fintechs, ensuring that all have robust compliance structures from the first day of operation, which is essential for the integrity of the system in an environment of rapid innovation.

Normative Instruction BCB No. 312/2023 defined procedures for sharing data and information on suspected fraud among institutions, aiming to improve technological interoperability and speed in fund transfers in cases of suspicion. BCB Resolution 147/2021, which established the Special Return Mechanism (MED), sought to block and safeguard funds in cases of fraud, although its effectiveness is limited by the speed of fund dispersal. Law No. 12,683/2012, by expanding predicate offenses, generated a massive volume of data that COAF and authorities need to process to identify money laundering patterns, highlighting the need for advanced analytical tools.

The quantitative analysis of data from the Central Bank of Brazil, referring to the period from November 2020 to December 2025, demonstrated the exponential growth of Pix as a payment method. In November 2020, Pix registered approximately 33 million monthly transactions, while cards (credit/debit) totaled about 2 billion and TED/DOCs, 150 million. In December 2021, Pix had already reached 1.2 billion transactions, surpassing debit cards. In December 2025, the monthly volume of transactions via Pix exceeded 7 billion, while cards reached 4.2 billion and TED/DOCs fell to less than 20 million.

This evolution consolidated Pix as the main payment method in the country, initially focusing on person-to-person (P2P) transactions until 2022, and later expanding to person-to-business (P2B) transactions between 2023 and 2024. Pix via QR Code became a dominant alternative at the point of sale, surpassing debit cards in the volume of individual transactions. The definitive closure of DOC in February 2024 marked a milestone in the modernization of the payment system, reflecting the consolidation of Pix and the loss of TED/DOC fees, which contributed to operational efficiency and financial inclusion.

Despite the benefits, the immediacy of Pix has intensified challenges related to financial fraud. The Serasa Experian Identity and Fraud Report, with data from March 2025, indicated that 51% of the Brazilian population was a victim of fraud in the last year, totaling over 11.5 million records in 2024. Of these victims, 54.2% suffered monetary losses, with an average loss between one thousand and five thousand reais for 20% of those affected. This data corroborates the perception that the immediate liquidity and high frequency of transactions via Pix have increased the complexity of financial monitoring, pressuring traditional control mechanisms.

The study by Serasa Experian (2025) also revealed important breakdowns regarding the profile of victims and the types of scams. People over 50 years old were the most targeted, with 57.8% reporting having been victims of fraud. In terms of gender, men and women showed very similar victimization rates. The Southeast region stood out negatively, being the only one where the number of victims and the percentage of financial losses grew simultaneously. Artificial Intelligence has been increasingly used to make fraud more sophisticated and difficult to identify, highlighting the need for advanced technological countermeasures.

Regarding the most applied types of scams, credit card misuse led the ranking, with a 47.9% growth from 2023 to 2024, followed by scams via bank slips and Pix phishing. These findings demonstrate that financial crime has rapidly adapted to digitalization, mimicking the behavior of common Pix users through small and high-frequency transactions, which hinders detection by systems based exclusively on value limits or static rules. The dispersal of illicit assets, known as Smurfing, and the use of pass-through accounts have emerged as the biggest challenges for AML-CFT in the Pix ecosystem.

Field research with specialists in the compliance and AML/CFT sector revealed that the consolidation of Pix has driven a cultural transformation in financial institutions. A total of 81% of respondents (17 out of 21) stated that there was a significant cultural transformation, accompanied by specific investments in technology and human capital to adapt monitoring to the immediacy of payments. This perception indicates that Pix was not just a technical change, but a catalyst that forced institutions to re-evaluate their risk appetite and awareness of real-time financial crime, positioning compliance as a vital protective barrier.

Despite the investments, the perception of the effectiveness of the Special Repatriation Mechanism (MED 2.0) in combating money laundering is predominantly moderate. Forty-three percent of participants classified MED 2.0 as “Moderate,” indicating that the speed of crime still surpasses that of recovery tools. The sum of the “Low” and “Ineffective” responses totaled 39%, suggesting that a considerable portion of experts views the system as insufficient against the speed at which criminals withdraw money or convert it into cryptoassets, especially due to the challenge of transit accounts.

Experts also identified Smurfing (spraying) as the money laundering typology most difficult to detect via Pix, with 33% of responses. This reinforces the idea that criminals are using small, high-frequency transactions to mimic the behavior of legitimate users, making traditional value-limit-based controls less effective. The preference for preventive measures that generate operational friction, such as value limits (33%) and precautionary blocking (28%), demonstrates that, in the view of the interviewed individuals, preventing the rapid outflow of funds is the most effective way to combat money laundering in the Pix ecosystem.

Regarding the future and technology in compliance, Network Analysis and Open Finance were pointed out as the most indispensable tools for 2026, with a tie in the responses. This suggests a necessary transition from a control model focused on isolated transactions to an approach driven by links, flows, and financial networks. The assessment of AML risk with the arrival of Pix by Proximity and Automatic Pix was predominantly “Moderate” (62%), indicating that, although risks are recognized, institutions are still in the process of adapting and improving their controls.

The collaboration between financial institutions in combating ML/TF after Pix was assessed as “Satisfactory, but bureaucratic” by 67% of respondents. Although Open Finance and data sharing are seen as the future, bureaucracy still prevents interinstitutional collaboration from occurring at the same speed as financial settlement. This gap between technological capability and bureaucratic agility represents a critical point for the effectiveness of the prevention system, requiring a reassessment of the processes and communication protocols among the different actors in the financial system.

In summary, the research results indicate that the Brazilian regulatory framework for AML-FT has a solid foundation but faces practical limitations given the immediacy and operational dynamics of Pix. The effectiveness of combating money laundering in the Pix ecosystem depends on the evolution of real-time behavioral monitoring mechanisms, technological interoperability, and less bureaucratic inter-institutional collaboration. The transition to a control model oriented by financial links, flows, and networks, integrating tools such as Network Analysis and Open Finance, is crucial to overcome the limitations of traditional control barriers and respond to the study’s central objective.

4. Conclusion

This study analyzed the effectiveness of the Brazilian normative framework for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT), focusing on Law No. 9.613/1998 and Central Bank resolutions, in light of the challenges imposed by the disruptive digitalization of the instant payment system (Pix). It was found that, although Pix has promoted notable financial inclusion and operational efficiency, its instantaneity and capillarity have also intensified vulnerabilities, such as the pulverization of illicit assets (“Smurfing”) and the use of “pass-through accounts,” hindering traceability. It was observed that 81% of financial institutions made significant investments in technology and risk culture to adapt to the new dynamics; however, recovery mechanisms such as MED 2.0 showed moderate effectiveness against the speed of transactions. It was identified that financial crime has adapted, mimicking the behavior of common users through small, high-frequency transactions, making traditional controls less effective.

The study’s main contribution lies in demonstrating that mitigating money laundering risks in the Pix ecosystem depends on the evolution of real-time behavioral monitoring mechanisms and less bureaucratic institutional collaboration, integrating Network Analysis and Open Finance to overcome the limitations of traditional control barriers. The research, however, has limitations inherent to its methodological design, such as the restricted and non-probabilistic sample of experts, which prevents statistical generalization, and the analysis of secondary data that, while identifying trends, does not establish direct causal relationships between Pix and the increase in fraud. For future studies, it is suggested to expand the sample, incorporate advanced quantitative methods, such as econometric modeling and financial network analysis, and develop longitudinal studies to evaluate the effectiveness of AML-CFT measures against new Pix functionalities and the expansion of Open Finance, in addition to comparative analyses with international systems.

Bibliographic References

BANCO CENTRAL DO BRASIL. Pix: Sistema de pagamentos instantâneos. Disponível em: https://www.bcb.gov.br/estabilidadefinanceira/pix. Acesso em: 27 set. 2025.

Brasil. 1998. Lei nº 9.613, de 3 de março de 1998. Dispõe sobre os crimes de “lavagem” ou ocultação de bens, direitos e valores; a prevenção da utilização do sistema financeiro para os ilícitos previstos nesta Lei; cria o Conselho de Controle de Atividades Financeiras – COAF, e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial da União, Brasília, 4 de março de 1998. Seção 1, p. 1. Disponível em: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l9613.htm. Acesso em: 21 abr. 2026.

Figueiredo, J. D. 2009. A importância do sistema bancário no combate e prevenção aos crimes de lavagem de dinheiro para inibir ações do crime organizado. Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso, Bacharelado em Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais. Centro de Ciências Jurídicas e Sociais, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Sousa, PB, Brasil. Disponível em: https://dspace.sti.ufcg.edu.br/bitstream/riufcg/14244/1/JANDILSON%20DIAS%20DE%20FIGUEIREDO%20-%20TCC%20DIREITO%202009.pdf. Acesso em: 28 out. 2025.

SERASA EXPERIAN. Mais da metade dos brasileiros já foi vítima de fraude e 20% deles perderam até R$ 5 mil, revela estudo inédito da Serasa Experian. Sala de Imprensa, 2024. Disponível em: https://www.serasaexperian.com.br/sala-de-imprensa/prevencao-a-fraude/mais-da-metade-dos-brasileiros-ja-foi-vitima-de-fraude-e-20-deles-perderam-ate-rdollar-5-mil-revela-estudo-inedito-da-serasa-experian/. Acesso em: 31 jan. 2026.

Silva, A. de S. 2014. Lavagem de dinheiro: análise da Lei 9613/98 e da atuação dos órgãos fiscalizadores frente aos crimes contra o sistema financeiro. Monografia, Especialização em Direito Penal e Direito Processual Penal, Faculdade de Direito da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. Disponível em: https://repositorio.pucsp.br/jspui/bitstream/handle/33400/1/ANTONIO%20DE%20SOUSA%20SILVA.pdf. Acesso em: 28 out. 2025.

Article originating from the Final Course Work of the Specialization in Compliance and ESG from MBA USP/Esalq

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