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The Council of State of Cuba published in the Official Gazette the Decree-Law 118/2026, which significantly increases penalties for violations in banking, financial, and foreign exchange matters, setting a cap of 5,000,000 Cuban pesos (CUP) for legal entities and 50,000 CUP for individuals.
The regulation, signed on May 7 by Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly of People's Power and the Council of State, came into effect immediately upon its publication and amends Article 15 of Decree-Law 363 "On Administrative Offenses of Provisions in Banking, Financial, and Foreign Exchange Matters," which has been in effect since September 2018.
The regime justifies the reform in its own terms: "The experience accumulated in the application of the aforementioned regulatory provision, the implementation of a new exchange rate policy, and the current economic circumstances in the country suggest the need to update the sanctioning framework."
In addition to the fixed ceiling, the decree establishes a second system of fines indexed to the current monthly minimum wage, applicable to specific infractions outlined in Articles 9.7, 10, and 11.1 of Decree-Law 363.
Under this scheme, individuals can receive fines ranging from ten to 200 units, while for legal entities, the range is from 10,000 to 200,000 units.
With the minimum wage set at 2,100 CUP since January 2021 —and with no reported changes to date— the maximum indexed ceiling for legal entities would amount to 420,000,000 CUP in the most extreme scenario.
The regulation also specifies that "in determining the amount of the fine at the time of its application, criteria for gradation related to the continuity or persistence of the infringing behavior and the nature of the harm caused are taken into account, ensuring that the amount of the fine is proportional to the impact of the conduct."
Decree-Law 118 is part of a trend of increasing regulatory financial tightening that the regime has accelerated in recent months.
In February, the dictatorship launched a law to retain foreign currency from electronic commerce; in March, the MININT conducted operations against the buying and selling of foreign currency with over 300 ongoing investigations; and in April, the government announced the cross-referencing of financial data to detect tax evasion.
The economic context in which these fines are applied is devastating for Cubans. The Cuban peso has lost nearly 95% of its value against the dollar in the informal market since 2020, dropping from 42 CUP per dollar to over 530 CUP in April 2026, significantly diminishing the real value of the penalties in hard currency.
In that scenario, the Cuban banks have begun to gradually pay outstanding accounts, while the state financial system faces an unprecedented liquidity crisis.
The Minister of Justice has 30 business days to publish an updated, revised, and coordinated version of Decree-Law 363 in the Official Gazette, as stated in the Second Final Provision of the new decree.
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