The Brazilian Central Bank has detected cryptocurrency-based money laundering circumstances related to a cyber hacking incident worth approximately $194.6 million (about 270.7 billion won) and has launched a strong investigation. This massive crime occurred through the private software company C&M Software, with preliminary accounts of six banks being breached, and is noted as a new case of digital asset crime that burst like a flood.
The incident occurred on June 30th. Hackers stole approximately 800 million reais, equivalent to about $194.6 million (about 270.7 billion won) through C&M Software, which has served as a connection pathway for payment infrastructure between Brazilian financial institutions. At least $30-40 million (about 41.7-55.6 billion won) was converted into cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, and USDT. Money laundering is estimated to have been primarily conducted through over-the-counter (OTC) brokers in Latin America and some cryptocurrency exchanges.
The Brazilian Federal Police immediately assigned the case to the São Paulo Cybercrime Response Unit and began tracing investigations into individuals and organizations related to the fund flow. Authorities are particularly paying attention to the possibility that the 'PIX' real-time payment network developed by the central bank might have been misused as one of the laundering channels.
The initial clue for this incident stemmed from an insider's 'betrayal'. It was confirmed that João Nazareno Roque, an employee of C&M Software, sold system access credentials to the attackers. After first contacting the hackers in March, he received about 5,000 reais (approximately 1.39 million won) for handing over access rights and an additional 10,000 reais (approximately 2.78 million won) for inserting commands within the system.
Immediately after the incident, the Brazilian Central Bank imposed a temporary suspension on C&M Software once the hackers' identities were identified. The company is currently operating under supervision with limited operations. However, since the incident occurred in a third-party infrastructure rather than the central bank's own system, voices are growing louder about the need to reorganize regulatory frameworks and review security risks.
Brazilian authorities are currently focusing their investigative efforts on understanding the full extent of the crime and potential accomplices, and plan to mobilize all available resources to recover the funds. With cryptocurrencies once again being exposed as a money laundering tool, speculation is rising about potential government regulatory strengthening of the digital asset industry in Brazil.
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