STF chief Edson Fachin links illegal bets, crypto, and organized crime in São Paulo court launch

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) chief Edson Fachin said organized crime has become a “contemporary tragedy” and revealed work with the Central Bank on measures to curb money laundering through illegal betting and cryptocurrencies. For high-risk PSPs, the message is straightforward: the payment flow is the crime scene now, not just the payout.

1. At the launch of new specialized courts at the São Paulo Court of Justice (TJSP) on Wednesday (8/7), Fachin said there is an effort under way with the Central Bank to build mechanisms against the use of illegal bets and cryptocurrencies in money laundering. He framed the issue as a financial-regulation problem, not just a criminal-law one.
2. The TJSP has created a specialized structure for cases involving criminal organizations and their links to illegal betting. Investigations will be concentrated in three criminal courts in São Paulo’s capital, with support from a state guarantees court for precautionary measures during the investigative phase.
3. Fachin said organized crime uses a clandestine market to commit offenses such as money laundering, integrated with trafficking, smuggling, extortion, and corruption. He also said the problem has already taken on a transnational dimension, with companies incorporated outside Brazil used to hide funds originating from organized crime.
4. According to Fachin, fragmented transactions make investigations and asset freezes harder, which in practice means more friction for recovery of funds. That matters for payment providers because the structuring of transactions can be just as important to investigators as the destination account itself.
5. TJSP president Francisco Eduardo Loureiro said the new setup centralizes all organized-crime investigations in the capital’s specialized courts. He added that São Paulo cases often branch into other states, which is why the court is tying into a national network of judges focused on organized crime.

Fachin also said criminal groups have expanded beyond drug trafficking into land grabbing, deforestation, and illegal mining, especially in Brazil’s North region. For high-risk operators, that is a reminder that illegal betting and crypto exposure can sit inside a much broader laundering stack, not as a standalone issue.