BCB Resolution No. 223 on the Retention of Suspected Counterfeit or Dubious National Banknotes and Coins

Resolution No. 222

BCB RESOLUTION NO. 223, OF MARCH 30, 2022

Provides for the retention, by institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil that carry out circulating medium operations, holders of Reserve Bank Accounts or Clearing Accounts, of national banknotes and coins considered fake or of dubious legitimacy found in the cash under their responsibility and revokes the norms it specifies.

The Collegiate Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Brazil, in a session held on March 30, 2022, based on art. 10, item II, of Law No. 4.595, of December 31, 1964, taking into account the provisions of art. 289 of Decree-Law No. 2.848, of December 7, 1940 (Penal Code), and considering the revocation of Circular No. 3.298, of November 1, 2005, by BCB Resolution No. 134, of September 1, 2021,

R E S O L V E :

Art. 1. This Resolution provides for the obligation of retention, by institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil that carry out circulating medium operations, holders of Reserve Bank Accounts or Clearing Accounts, of national banknotes and coins considered fake or of dubious legitimacy found in the cash under their responsibility.

Art. 2. The institutions authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil that carry out circulating medium operations, holders of Reserve Bank Accounts or Clearing Accounts, upon identifying national banknotes and coins considered fake or of dubious legitimacy, in payment, withdrawal, deposit, cash exchange, or any other cash operations, shall:

I - retain such banknotes and coins;

II - provide the holders of the banknotes or coins with a retention receipt, keeping a copy in their possession for at least 2 (two) years;

III - register the holder's data and the data of the retained national banknotes or coins in a proprietary computerized system and forward them to the Central Bank of Brazil, through a specific message from the Catalog of Services of the National Financial System; and

IV - forward the retained national banknotes and coins to the Central Bank of Brazil, for analysis, separately from other banknotes or coins normally forwarded, as defined in specific regulations.

§ 1. If the retained specimens have been requested by police agencies or judicial authorities, the institutions mentioned in the main text are exempt from adopting the procedures referred to in items II, III, and IV.

§ 2. The authorized institutions, upon request, shall make information available regarding the progress of the analysis process to the holder of the retained cash.

Art. 3. In the event of a withdrawal, including at self-service terminals, where a banknote considered fake or of dubious legitimacy has been received, the authorized institution making the withdrawal shall proceed, at its own expense, to replace it with another genuine one, immediately after its presentation by the customer.

§ 1. The measure provided for in the main text of this article also applies in the case of receipt, by the customer, of coins considered fake or of dubious legitimacy.

§ 2. The procedure indicated in the main text shall be adopted by the authorized institution in exchange operations carried out at service counters.

Art. 4. The retained national banknotes and coins shall be delivered to the Central Bank of Brazil, observing the areas of operation of its regional representations, as defined in specific regulations, within the following timeframes:

I - up to 30 (thirty) calendar days, for retention occurring in cities where the Central Bank of Brazil has representation; and

II - up to 45 (forty-five) calendar days, for retention occurring in other locations in the national territory.

Art. 5. After analysis of the presented national banknote or coin, the Central Bank of Brazil will inform the result to the sending authorized institution.

Art. 6. Non-compliance with the provisions of this Resolution will subject the authorized institutions and their respective administrators to the penalties provided for in current legislation.

Art. 7. The authorized institutions are responsible for designating a statutory director responsible for compliance with the provisions of this Resolution, and must register and keep updated, in the Information System on Entities of Interest of the Central Bank of Brazil (Unicad), their registration data, including the electronic address.

Art. 8. The Department of
Circulating Medium (Mecir) is authorized to issue complementary regulations for the application of this Resolution.

Art. 9. The following are revoked:

I - Circular No. 3.358, of August
16, 2007;

II - Circular No. 3.541, of June
24, 2011;

III - Art. 2 of Circular No.
3.465, of September 2, 2009;

IV - Circular No. 3.791, of May
20, 2016;

V - Resolution CMN No. 4.492, of
May 31, 2016;

VI - Circular No. 3.798, of June
20, 2016; and

VIII - Art. 1 of Circular No.
3.940, of April 17, 2019.

Art.
10. This Resolution enters into force on May 2, 2022.

Carolina de Assis Barros
Director of Administration