Criminal Lawyers Brazil 2026: Corporate Compliance, Executive Liability & Asset Seizure

Brazil’s enactment of Lei 15.358/2026, the country’s sweeping overhaul of organised-crime legislation, has fundamentally redrawn the compliance map for every company operating in the jurisdiction. Criminal lawyers in Brazil are now fielding urgent questions from general counsel, compliance officers and boards confronting expanded corporate criminal liability, wider personal exposure for executives, and a new enforcement toolkit that explicitly covers the seizure of digital assets including cryptocurrency. This guide translates the 2026 reforms into the operational, board-level and executive actions that corporate counsel must prioritise immediately.

Key takeaways:

• Executive liability has widened. Lei 15.358/2026 broadens the circumstances in which individual directors and officers face personal criminal exposure for acts linked to organised-crime offences, including facilitation and omission.
• Corporate criminal triggers have expanded. Companies can now be held liable under a wider set of predicate offences; compliance-programme deficiencies may be treated as aggravating factors.
• Digital-asset seizure is explicit. Courts and law-enforcement agencies have express statutory authority to freeze and seize cryptocurrency wallets, exchange accounts and other digital assets.

What Changed in 2026, Lei 15.358/2026 and Companion Measures

Lei 15.358/2026, published on the official Planalto legislative portal, represents Brazil’s most significant reform of its organised-crime framework since Lei 12.850/2013. The statute expands the definition of criminal organisations, creates new predicate offences, and, critically for corporate counsel, strengthens the mechanisms by which companies and their officers can be held criminally liable for conduct that facilitates or benefits organised criminal activity.

The legislation does not operate in isolation. Companion regulatory measures introduced in parallel by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Federal Police expand investigative powers over digital assets and reinforce cross-border asset-tracing cooperation. Industry observers expect these companion measures to accelerate enforcement timelines significantly. The OECD’s Phase 4 follow-up report on Brazil, published in March 2026, specifically noted the country’s expanding enforcement capacity and recommended that corporates treat the organised crime law Brazil reforms as a trigger for immediate compliance-programme review.

For companies, the practical effect is a three-fold increase in risk exposure: broader predicate offences that can attach corporate criminal liability Brazil-wide; enhanced seizure and forfeiture powers (including over digital assets); and an enforcement infrastructure that is better resourced and internationally connected than at any previous point.

Quick Timeline of Enactment, Entry Into Force and Key Agency Powers

Who and What Is at Risk, Corporate and Executive Exposure

The 2026 reforms alter the risk landscape for every entity with a Brazilian operational footprint. Lei 15.358/2026 widens the circumstances under which executive liability attaches, not only for direct participation in criminal conduct, but also for failures of oversight that facilitate organised-crime offences. General counsel should note that the statute treats compliance-programme deficiencies as potential aggravating factors when courts assess corporate and individual sanctions.

For directors and officers, the practical consequences are severe. Personal criminal exposure now encompasses facilitation offences, situations where an executive’s failure to implement adequate controls, or to act on suspicious information, is deemed to have enabled criminal activity. Industry observers expect Brazilian prosecutors, emboldened by the OECD’s endorsement, to test these provisions in high-profile corporate investigations during 2026 and 2027.

Corporate criminal liability Brazil provisions under the 2026 framework apply to a broad range of predicate offences, including bribery of public officials, money laundering through corporate structures, and supply-chain facilitation of organised crime. Companies that cannot demonstrate a functioning criminal compliance Brazil programme face materially higher penalties, including asset forfeiture and operational restrictions.

Executive Liability Risk Matrix

Comparative Obligations by Entity Type

Asset Seizure Powers, Traditional Assets and Digital Assets

Asset seizure Brazil mechanisms have been substantially strengthened under the 2026 reforms. Lei 15.358/2026 and its companion measures grant courts and law-enforcement agencies explicit authority to issue interim freezing orders over a wide range of assets, real property, bank accounts, securities, vehicles and, for the first time in Brazilian statute, digital assets including cryptocurrency wallets and exchange-held balances.

The seizure of digital assets provisions are particularly significant for corporate counsel. Brazilian authorities may now obtain judicial orders compelling cryptocurrency exchanges operating in or serving Brazilian clients to freeze accounts and disclose transaction histories. As noted in the Chambers Practice Guides on International Fraud and Asset Tracing (Brazil chapter), the country’s asset-recovery framework has evolved rapidly, with courts demonstrating a willingness to issue ex parte freezing orders in urgent cases. The ICLG Business Crime Laws report on Brazil confirms that interim asset preservation measures can be executed within days of a judicial order, often before the target is formally notified.

Cross-border cooperation mechanisms have also been reinforced. Brazil’s existing mutual legal assistance treaties (MLATs) are now supplemented by fast-track digital-asset cooperation protocols that allow Brazilian authorities to request freezing orders from foreign exchanges and custodians through streamlined channels. The likely practical effect will be a significant reduction in the time required to trace and immobilise assets held offshore or in decentralised wallets.

For companies holding digital assets as part of treasury operations, the compliance imperative is clear: segregation of corporate digital-asset holdings, real-time monitoring of wallet activity, and pre-prepared response protocols for seizure orders are no longer optional, they are baseline compliance requirements under the criminal compliance Brazil framework.

Practical Forensic and Preservation Steps for Digital Assets

When a seizure order targets corporate digital assets, the company’s response in the first hours determines whether it faces obstruction allegations or is treated as a cooperative party. The following preservation checklist should be integrated into every corporate incident-response plan:

• Isolate wallets immediately. Transfer control of all corporate wallets to a designated custodian or compliance officer; disable automated transfers and smart-contract interactions.
• Create forensic images. Generate cryptographically verified snapshots of all wallet balances, transaction histories and access logs at the moment of notification.
• Maintain chain of custody. Document every action taken on digital-asset accounts from the moment of awareness, using timestamped logs that will withstand judicial scrutiny.
• Notify exchanges and custodians. Issue preservation letters to all exchanges, custodial platforms and DeFi protocols where the company holds assets, instructing them to freeze accounts pending further instructions.
• Engage specialist forensic advisers. Retain blockchain-forensics experts who can trace transaction flows, identify commingled funds and produce court-admissible reports.

Updating Your Corporate Criminal Compliance Programme, Practical Checklist

The 2026 reforms make compliance-programme adequacy a decisive factor in how courts and prosecutors assess corporate criminal liability Brazil exposure. A programme that was considered robust under the pre-2026 framework may now contain material gaps, particularly around digital-asset governance, organised-crime risk mapping and executive-oversight protocols.

The following prioritised action plan provides a structured approach for criminal lawyers in Brazil and in-house counsel to update their compliance programmes within 180 days of the reforms taking effect.

30-day priorities (immediate):

• Conduct a gap analysis of the existing compliance programme against the expanded offence definitions in Lei 15.358/2026
• Update the corporate risk map to include organised-crime facilitation scenarios specific to the company’s sector and supply chain
• Review and strengthen third-party due diligence protocols, with particular attention to intermediaries in high-risk jurisdictions
• Implement or update a digital-asset custody and monitoring policy that addresses seizure-response obligations

90-day priorities (tactical):

• Deliver mandatory training to the board, senior management and all employees in client-facing, procurement and finance roles on the new offence definitions and personal liability risks
• Establish or reinforce internal reporting channels (whistleblower hotline) with explicit protections against retaliation
• Review escalation protocols to ensure that red-flag reports reach board level within defined timeframes, with documented response actions
• Conduct sanctions-screening updates aligned with international cooperation measures introduced alongside Lei 15.358/2026

180-day priorities (structural):

• Commission an independent compliance-programme audit by external counsel to assess programme adequacy under the 2026 standards
• Integrate criminal compliance Brazil obligations into enterprise risk management and internal audit cycles
• Formalise board oversight of the compliance programme through a dedicated committee or charter amendment
• Establish a digital-asset incident-response team with pre-approved external forensic and legal advisers

Sample Policy Language, Crypto Custody and Seizure Response

• Crypto custody clause: “All corporate digital-asset holdings shall be maintained in segregated wallets under the exclusive control of the designated compliance custodian. No transfers exceeding [threshold] may be executed without dual authorisation from the CFO and Chief Compliance Officer.”
• Seizure-response clause: “Upon receipt of any judicial order, subpoena or law-enforcement request relating to corporate digital assets, the compliance custodian shall immediately isolate the affected wallets, generate forensic images and notify the General Counsel. Full cooperation with lawful orders shall be the default position; any decision to challenge an order must be approved by outside criminal defence counsel within 24 hours.”

Internal Investigations and Executive Defence, Privilege, Cooperation Strategies and Triggers

Internal investigations Brazil conducted in the wake of the 2026 reforms require careful navigation of privilege limitations, disclosure obligations and strategic decisions about cooperation with authorities. Unlike some common-law jurisdictions, Brazil provides limited attorney-client privilege protections for internal-investigation materials, particularly where in-house counsel leads the investigation.

The practical consequence is that corporates should, wherever possible, retain independent external criminal defence counsel to direct internal investigations. Materials generated under the supervision of external counsel enjoy stronger (though not absolute) privilege protections. Early engagement of external counsel also signals seriousness to prosecutors and may position the company favourably in negotiations over deferred prosecution agreements or leniency arrangements.

Cooperation with the Federal Police and the Ministério Público Federal (Federal Prosecution Service) must be approached with a clear strategy. Voluntary disclosure of investigation findings can attract mitigating credit under Brazil’s leniency framework, but premature or poorly structured disclosures can increase executive liability exposure and forfeit legal-privilege protections. The decision to cooperate, and the timing and scope of any cooperation, should be taken only with specialist criminal defence advice.

Plea bargaining (colaboração premiada) remains an important tool in Brazilian criminal proceedings. Under the 2026 framework, industry observers expect prosecutors to use plea negotiations more aggressively to secure evidence against corporate structures and senior executives. Companies must ensure that any executive participating in plea negotiations does so with independent personal counsel, not through the company’s legal team, given the inherent conflicts of interest.

When to Engage Criminal Defence Counsel vs Compliance Counsel

• Engage compliance counsel when: the issue is programme design, policy drafting, training, or a routine regulatory inquiry without criminal exposure indicators.
• Engage criminal defence counsel when: a Federal Police investigation has been opened or is anticipated; a search warrant, seizure order or subpoena has been received; any executive has been contacted by investigators; or internal findings suggest potential criminal conduct.
• Engage both simultaneously when: the company faces a regulatory inquiry that could escalate to criminal proceedings, or when privilege-sensitive internal investigation materials must be protected.

Incident Response Playbook, Immediate 24/72-Hour Actions for Corporates and Executives

When a criminal investigation materialises under the 2026 framework, the actions taken in the first 72 hours are decisive. The following playbook provides a structured response sequence that criminal lawyers in Brazil recommend to corporate clients:

Day 0 (first 24 hours):

• Secure all IT systems and communication channels; implement litigation holds on relevant data
• Preserve all physical and digital evidence; disable automated deletion protocols
• Engage external criminal defence counsel, do not rely solely on in-house legal for criminal matters
• Notify the board (or board committee) and D&O insurance carriers
• Isolate digital-asset wallets and generate forensic snapshots as described above

Days 1–3 (72-hour window):

• Suspend (with appropriate employment-law protections) any personnel identified as potentially implicated
• Engage external digital-forensics specialists to conduct chain-of-custody preservation
• Prepare initial communications strategy, internal (employees, board) and external (regulators, media, investors)
• Assess whether voluntary cooperation with authorities is strategically appropriate, based on criminal defence counsel’s advice
• Begin internal asset mapping to identify all assets (including digital assets) potentially subject to seizure

Practical Examples, Risk Scenarios and Mitigation

Scenario 1: Supplier-bribery chain. A multinational’s Brazilian subsidiary discovers that a key logistics supplier has been making payments to municipal officials to secure permits. Under Lei 15.358/2026, the subsidiary’s failure to conduct adequate due diligence on the supplier could constitute facilitation of an organised-crime offence. Immediate steps: suspend the supplier relationship, preserve all contractual and payment records, engage criminal defence counsel, and assess voluntary disclosure to the Ministério Público.

Scenario 2: Executive exposed in cross-border probe. A senior executive of a Brazilian subsidiary is named in a multinational investigation coordinated between Brazilian and foreign authorities. The executive faces personal criminal exposure under the widened liability provisions. Immediate steps: the executive retains independent personal defence counsel; the company implements an information barrier between the executive and the internal investigation team; D&O insurers are notified within policy-required timeframes.

Scenario 3: Crypto-exchange subpoena and seizure. Authorities serve a freezing order on a cryptocurrency exchange where the company holds treasury reserves in stablecoins. Under the 2026 digital-asset seizure provisions, the exchange is required to freeze the accounts immediately. Immediate steps: activate the digital-asset incident-response plan; generate forensic images of wallet activity; issue a preservation notice to the exchange; engage blockchain-forensics specialists; challenge any overbroad seizure through criminal defence counsel.

Why Criminal Lawyers in Brazil Matter After Lei 15.358/2026

The 2026 reforms represent a step change in the complexity and severity of Brazil’s corporate criminal enforcement landscape. For multinational companies, Brazilian subsidiaries and individual executives, the practical consequence is that reactive lawyering is no longer sufficient. Proactive engagement with experienced criminal lawyers in Brazil, professionals who understand both the statutory framework and the enforcement culture of the Federal Police and Ministério Público, is essential to managing risk, protecting assets and preserving executive freedom.

Global Law Experts connects corporate counsel with practitioners who specialise in criminal compliance Brazil advisory, internal investigations, executive defence and asset-tracing response. If your organisation requires immediate compliance guidance or is facing an active investigation under the 2026 framework, contact Global Law Experts to be connected with qualified counsel.

Sources

1. Planalto, Lei 15.358/2026 (official law text)
2. ConJur (legal commentary)
3. Trench Rossi Watanabe
4. Chambers Practice Guides, International Fraud & Asset Tracing 2026 (Brazil)
5. ICLG, Business Crime Laws Brazil
6. OECD, Anti-Bribery Convention Phase 4 Follow-Up Report on Brazil
7. Mattos Filho, Compliance & Corporate Ethics Brazil 2026