CGU: Leniency agreement increases the chance of restitution to the public treasury.

Agency Board - The executive secretary of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), Carlos Higino Ribeiro de Alencar, defended the leniency agreements negotiated by the agency with companies accused of corruption and cartel formation by Operation Lava Jato. He is participating in a public hearing of the Urban Development Committee.

According to Alencar, the agreements foreseen in the Anti-Corruption Law (12.846/13) allow the Public Authorities to be reimbursed for any misappropriation of funds by these companies. He argued that, if the company enters bankruptcy or judicial reorganization proceedings due to a lack of credit related to this type of criminal investigation, it is unlikely that public funds will be reimbursed.

He cited as an example the case of the construction company Delta, accused of cartel formation and corruption in public works four years ago. "To this day, the company has not been able to get out of this situation and has not returned anything to the public treasury," he said.

According to the executive secretary of the CGU (Brazilian Comptroller General's Office), the leniency agreement was not created by the Anti-Corruption Law to save companies. "This new provision in our legislation was instituted for two main reasons: to enable companies to collaborate in ending the illicit acts of others and to allow for the reimbursement of public funds," he explained.

According to him, the mere expectation in the market that the investigated company will be deemed ineligible and thus prevented from being contracted by the Public Authorities, already compromises its activities due to the cut in credit.

"The mere possibility of sanctions creates a very high chance that the company will be unable to generate cash. It is already facing cautious action from banks and other agents," he pointed out.