By Brazil Stock Guide – Brazil’s Federal Police, the National Development Bank (BNDES) and the Brazilian Banking Federation (Febraban) signed a technical cooperation agreement on Monday to strengthen the fight against money laundering, organized crime and cybercrime, with a direct focus on protecting the country’s financial system. The agreement will run for five years and does not involve any transfer of financial resources among the parties.
Signed at the Federal Police headquarters in São Paulo, the pact formalizes cooperation between law enforcement, a state-owned lender and the private banking sector at a time of rising financial fraud and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats. The initiative provides for structured information sharing, within the limits of legal secrecy and data-protection rules, as well as joint studies, technical events, professional training and upgrades to investigative systems.
Federal Police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues said the partnership reflects the need to adapt enforcement tools to new criminal realities. “If crime has changed, we cannot keep fighting it with practices from 10, 15 or 20 years ago,” he said. Rodrigues added that authorities expect to expand international cooperation, noting that with a Brazilian currently leading Interpol, talks are under way to bring the organization into the partnership as early as 2026.
Institutional coordination
BNDES President Aloizio Mercadante said the development bank will share its expertise in integrity, internal controls, compliance, anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing frameworks, information security and cyber-risk mitigation. He described BNDES as a solid and transparent institution within Brazil’s financial system, equipped with robust compliance and security mechanisms.
Mercadante also framed financial crime as a broader economic issue rather than a purely law-enforcement concern. According to him, even as a development bank, BNDES has strengthened internal governance, expanded approval layers and tightened controls to reduce vulnerabilities, given the international scale and complexity of modern financial crime.
Joint action plan
Under the agreement, the institutions will develop a joint work plan focused on producing and sharing technical and scientific knowledge, conducting studies and hosting specialized events, and training personnel. The goal is to reinforce prevention and enforcement capabilities against financial and cybercrime while raising overall security standards within the financial system.
Pressure on the financial system
Febraban President Isaac Sidney said closer integration between banks and public authorities is essential to prevent the financial system from being used as a shelter for criminals. “Integration is the way to shield the financial system,” he said, stressing that banks must remain central players in the fight against illicit activity by expanding investments in technology, intelligence, internal controls and staff training.
Sidney argued that authorities and the industry must act firmly to close both entry and permanence loopholes in the system, ensuring the exclusion of criminal actors. While supporting competition and innovation in financial services, he warned of the risks posed by fragile institutions operating under weaker oversight.
The agreement underscores a coordinated push by Brazilian authorities and the banking sector to confront financial crime in an environment marked by rapid digitalization, cross-border transactions and growing systemic risks.