Brazil’s first four civil forfeiture suits under its anti-gang law seek 190.3 million reais in property, putting new financial powers against criminal factions before the courts.
Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (AGU) filed the cases on Oct. 20. Three matters linked to the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) cover 87 defendants and have a reported value of 82 million reais; the investigations include cigarette and pesticide smuggling. A fourth case, valued at 108.2 million reais, concerns cocaine trafficking to Europe and money laundering. The government said investigators connected people in that matter to a Comando Vermelho member but did not establish formal faction membership. The two case values add to 190.2 million reais at the stated precision, 0.1 million below the reported aggregate.
Law 15,358 took effect on March 25, 2026. It defines a criminal faction as a group of at least three people using violence, threats or coercion to control territory or society, intimidate people or authorities, or attack essential services. The law sets prison terms of 20 to 40 years for the offense of structured social domination, with higher penalties for factors including leadership or financing. It also permits civil proceedings to forfeit assets linked to illegal activity without a prior criminal conviction.
The law directs forfeiture proceeds to different funds depending on the offense. Assets tied to illicit drug trafficking follow a separate regime, with proceeds going to the fund responsible for the National Drug Policy; other covered proceeds may go to federal or state public-security funds. The statute also bars auxílio-reclusão payments to dependents in specified cases involving people held before trial or serving sentences for covered crimes.
The law requires a national criminal-organization database and databases in the states and Federal District. On Aug. 20, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) said a technical group was discussing the draft regulation for the national system.
Four constitutional challenges are before Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF), which held a public hearing Aug. 24–25. Petitioners dispute the preventive-detention rule and provisions allowing forfeiture before a final criminal conviction. The court has not ruled on those questions.
A Human Rights Watch visit to Complexo da Penha six months after the 2025 Operation Containment found residents there said the same criminal organization still controlled the area. The operation took place before the law took effect, so the residents’ accounts do not show whether the new measures have changed criminal groups’ influence. The asset suits and the STF’s review are among the next tests of how the law will be applied.
