US Sanctions Target PCC Crypto Money Laundering Network

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on two Brazilian nationals and four companies for allegedly laundering more than $30 million in illicit drug proceeds using cryptocurrency. The enforcement action targets a São Paulo-based node of a financial network tied to the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a powerful Latin American transnational criminal organization. Under the action, all US-based assets of the designated targets are frozen, and global financial institutions transacting with them face severe secondary sanctions risks.

The sanctioned individuals, Victor Henrique de Oliveira Shimada and Stella Stefanie Nunes Henrique de Oliveira, allegedly operated a network that converted US-based drug proceeds into cryptocurrency before transferring the funds back to Brazil. According to OFAC, Shimada used several corporate fronts to obscure the transactions, including São Paulo-based financial services firm Victory Trading and construction company Pixwave Soluções de Pagamentos Ltda. The designated entities also include Wave Construções Inteligentes Ltda in Brazil and Portugal-based transportation firm Avenidas Flutuantes Unipessoal Lda.

This enforcement action marks the third time OFAC has directly targeted the PCC and its affiliates, following the group's initial designation under Executive Order 14059 in December 2021. The coordinated investigation involved the Homeland Security Task Force, the FBI Miami Field Office, and the US Department of Justice. The crackdown highlights the growing intersection of Latin American organized crime and digital asset networks, raising the stakes for regional compliance officers.

For operators in the Latin American fintech and digital asset space, these sanctions expose critical regulatory vulnerabilities. Regional digital payment platforms, peer-to-peer networks, and crypto exchanges face mounting pressure to tighten their Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CFT) protocols. The integration of high-volume local payment rails with global crypto liquidity continues to face intense regulatory scrutiny as Washington intensifies its crackdown on illicit cross-border capital flows.