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The Brazilian federal authorities have cracked three large money laundering syndicates in Operation Niflheim. Conducted by the Brazilian Federal Police in coordination with the Federal Revenue Service, the operation apprehended the suspects following eight warrants and 19 search and seizure warrants, including Caxias do Sul, Sao Paulo, Fortaleza, and Brasilia. This has resulted in the freezing of assets, cars, and apartments, as well as the freezing of about $1. 58 billion in different bank accounts or cryptocurrency exchanges.
This operation aimed at three organizations suspected to have engaged in money laundering of $9. 7 billion since 2021. From research, the following findings indicate that most of the proceeds used to finance these projects were from criminal activities like drug trafficking and smuggling.
The Federal Revenue Service of Brazil is moving forward quite actively to address the problem of tax evasion associated with cryptocurrency transactions using a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence tool. This tool, created in-house, combines AI algorithms with network analysis of the tax data for more effective identification of suspicious activities. The AI system has been able to detect and trace tax fraud in the crypto market, specifically over $180 million, proving the program successful and efficient in the pursuit of crime.
This proactive application of technology not only helps to identify the tax evasion schemes in the first instance but also increases the efficiency of investigations by helping to offload the burden from human agents and increasing response rates. The ability of Germany to achieve these or maybe similar technological integrations in its governmental system could be used to encourage other countries facing similar issues posed by the digital economy.
Brazil’s Nubank, the largest independent digital bank in Latin America, has just declared that it won’t be trading in its in-house cryptocurrency called nucoin. As of now, it has more than 100 million customers, Nubank stated the upcoming changes in an email informing its users that trading will cease in the next 15 days.
Nucoin holders are presented with two options: they can either sell their nucoins for bitcoins or USD coin, which is a stable coin whose value is pegged to the US dollar but is only available to users with over 100 reais ($17. 64) worth of nucoins. This offer is valid till December 9.
On the other hand, customers who possess a lesser amount, or simply those who are content not to exchange their holdings, will keep their nucoins around for any changes that may be made to the rewards program. This shift is part of Nubank's continuous evolution to adapt to customers’ demands and sustain its dominance in the market.
