The Senate approved on Wednesday night (10/12), by 64 votes to 0, the bill known as the Anti-Faction Law, which establishes a new legal framework for combating organized crime in Brazil. The proposal increases penalties, updates legal definitions, changes investigation protocols, and creates a new contribution on transfers to betting platforms—the Cide-Bets tax—which could generate up to R$ 30 billion annually to fund public security operations and the prison system. Because the text was modified in the Senate, it will be returned to the Chamber of Deputies for further analysis.
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Update of the Law
Prepared by Senator Alessandro Vieira (MDB-SE), the bill revises the Law on Criminal Organizations and consolidates various criminal and procedural provisions. The final version passed with broad support from both the government and the opposition, following negotiations with the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Police to resolve concerns raised about the version initially approved in the Chamber.
Cide-Bets
The Cide-Bets tax will apply a 15% fee on transfers from bettors to online betting platforms. At least 60% of the revenue will be allocated directly to state public security funds. Vieira maintained the Special Action Groups to Combat Organized Crime (Gaecos) as beneficiaries and added state governments, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Judiciary to the council responsible for managing the funds. The bill also creates a one-time regularization declaration for betting operators that have been operating without authorization, allowing them to settle outstanding federal taxes from the past five years under specific conditions, with strict penalties for noncompliance.
Criminal Faction
In the criminal code, the bill introduces the offense of criminal faction, defined as an organization that exercises territorial control or operates across states using violence or intimidation. Militias are legally classified in the same category. Participating in, financing, promoting, or founding such groups will carry sentences of 15 to 30 years, which may double for leaders and reach up to 60 years. The text introduces aggravating factors that, when applied cumulatively, could theoretically push penalties beyond 100 years, although the legal maximum remains 40.
Aggravating Circumstances
New aggravating elements include the use of explosives, obstruction of highways, railways, ports, and airports, and enhanced penalties when crimes result in injuries or deaths involving Armed Forces personnel. The proposal also establishes new crimes tied specifically to organized crime, such as specialized receiving of stolen goods and the recruitment of minors, with penalties ranging from five to 30 years. The bill removes the right to conjugal visits for those convicted under the Organized Crime Law.
Investigations
The text expands investigative powers for the police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, allowing direct access to databases, stricter rules for continuing investigations, and deadlines for judicial authorization. Telephone and message interceptions may be granted for up to five days, renewable. In urgent situations involving immediate risk to life, investigators may access location data and financial transactions without prior judicial approval. The bill authorizes the use of informants as infiltrated agents and strengthens protective measures for investigators and witnesses.
Prison System
For those convicted of heinous crimes, at least 70% of the sentence must be served in a closed regime. For members of criminal factions or militias, the percentage increases to 75%, and may reach 85% for repeat offenders. Leaders of criminal groups will serve their penalties in federal maximum-security prisons. The bill also authorizes emergency transfers of inmates when there is a risk of riot or threats to staff safety.
National Database
The Anti-Faction Law creates a national database of individuals and entities connected to criminal organizations and requires states to establish compatible systems. It also formalizes integrated operations to combat organized crime, modeled on the existing Integrated Forces to Combat Organized Crime (Ficcos), involving police forces, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, ABIN, COAF, the Federal Revenue Service, and the Central Bank.
Judicial Intervention
Another important component of the bill focuses on dismantling the economic infrastructure of criminal groups. It allows for the freezing of accounts and assets belonging to illegal operators, authorizes judicial intervention in companies that provide support to criminal organizations, and establishes procedures for seizing and forfeiting assets during investigations. The bill also imposes more stringent rules on the fuel sector, requiring gas stations to automatically transmit sales data to the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) to prevent criminal infiltration and money laundering schemes.
Analysis:
The approval of the Anti-Faction Law represents one of the most significant legislative moves in recent years to modernize Brazil’s tools for combating organized crime. By updating legal definitions, harmonizing procedural rules, and introducing harsher penalties for participation in criminal factions, the bill attempts to address both the operational and structural dimensions of criminal networks. The introduction of a specific offense for criminal factions—encompassing groups that exercise territorial control or operate across states through violence—signals an effort to tailor the legal framework to the realities of Brazil’s fragmented yet expansive illicit economies.
The restructuring of the prison regime and the introduction of stricter progression rules reflect a renewed attempt to minimize the operational influence of incarcerated leaders, a persistent challenge in Brazil’s correctional system. Mandatory placement of high-risk faction leaders in federal maximum-security prisons and expanded authority for emergency transfers could reduce command-and-control capabilities from within penitentiaries. Yet, without systemic improvements in prison management and rehabilitation programs, harsher sentences alone are unlikely to disrupt recruitment pipelines or weaken the long-term resilience of criminal organizations. Overall, while the Anti-Faction Law introduces robust and necessary tools, its effectiveness will ultimately depend on implementation, institutional coordination, and the state’s capacity to balance enforcement with broader reforms in public security governance.
Sources: O Globo.
