New law establishes 2 to 8 years for qualified theft and 6 to 12 years for theft of essential service equipment
The president sanctioned the, which increases the punishments for theft, theft and reception of wires, cables and equipment of essential services. The legislation was published in (Official Gazette) this Monday (29.Jul.2025) and amends the Penal Code. It also expands penalties for interruption of telecommunications and data services. This is a (PDF – 2 MB).
With the change, thefts against “Any assets that compromise the functioning of bodies of the Union, State or Municipality or public or private establishments that provide essential public services” are considered qualified. The penalty is imprisonment of 2 to 8 years, plus a fine. Theft of these materials will be a sentence of 6 to 12 years of imprisonment and fine. The penalty for receiving will be 2 to 8 years, with a fine. For qualified reception, 6 to 16 years.
In the case of service interruptions, crimes committed in situations of public calamity or “By subtraction, damage or destruction of equipment used to provide telecommunications services” receive folded feathers.
The president vetoed 2 excerpts of the text approved by Congress: the reduction of the minimum penalty for money laundering and the suspension for a defined time of regulatory obligations of power companies and telecommunications affected by theft or equipment theft.
