The General Superintendence of CADE (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) filed an investigation that targeted large Brazilian banks for allegedly restricting cryptocurrency brokerages’ access to the financial system.
The decision is contained in an order published in the Official Gazette this Monday (25).
The investigation began in September 2018 after a complaint by the Brazilian Association of Cryptoactives and Blockchain against Banco do Brasil, but has extended to other institutions.
The case was initially shelved in late 2019, but revived the following year at the request of the regulator’s court.
In a technical note that based the decision to close the investigation again, the superintendence said that “despite a considerable amount of information has been brought to the file, among them, there are no evidential elements that, in some way, serve as a counterpoint to the conclusions that supported… the decision to file the present case”.
The association accused Banco do Brasil, Itaú Unibanco, Bradesco, Santander Brasil, Inter and Banco Sicredi of limiting or hindering the access of cryptocurrency brokers to the banking system.
In the case that started the process, the association said that Banco do Brasil closed, without justification, the current account of the Atlas brokerage, which used the account to receive deposits and transfers from customers who wanted to buy bitcoins, according to the technical note that supported the initial decision of 2019.
Other similar complaints against the banks have been filed by companies in the cryptocurrency industry, including Mercado Bitcoin, according to the documents. The association also reported to Cade cases of banks’ refusal to open current accounts for brokerage firms.
In general, banks responded at the time that “closing a current account is inherent to their business activity, being a commercial choice constitutionally guaranteed by freedom of initiative and would even be supported by rules enacted by regulatory bodies”, showed a technical note of 2019.
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