Public Prosecutor's Office indicts 52 for tax evasion.
Crimes against the tax system were committed in the regions of Limeira and Piracicaba, in São Paulo, resulting in a loss of R$ 83 million in federal public revenue.
Fernando Porfírio_247 - The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has filed 45 indictments with the courts for crimes against the tax system committed in the Limeira and Piracicaba regions. In total, 52 people were indicted for tax evasion. There are cases involving both individuals and legal entities. Between 1998 and 2006, they failed to pay R$ 83.599.888,35 to the federal public coffers and could be sentenced to a prison term ranging from two to 12 years, in addition to a fine.
The criminal prosecution of those involved only occurred through the initiative of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the Municipality of Piracicaba. The members of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office stationed in the city realized that the Federal Revenue Service offices were not sending the formal complaint for criminal purposes to the agency in cases where tax assessments were based on financial transactions inconsistent with the taxpayer's income.
According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the notification was not made in cases where the tax authorities determined that there was no evidence of intent, even if the taxpayers could not prove the origin of the funds moved in their bank accounts. In these cases, a tax assessment was issued, without the imposition of a fine.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) sent recommendations to the Federal Revenue Service offices in Limeira and Piracicaba, requesting the forwarding of all administrative proceedings in which there was financial activity incompatible with income. The Federal Revenue Service office in Limeira sent 123 proceedings to the MPF, and the one in Piracicaba sent 11.
From there, the prosecutors began a screening process to identify cases where there was no payment or installment plan, those that were not yet under investigation, and those that actually fell within the prosecutor's office's area of expertise. Without the intervention of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, these cases would have gone unpunished.
Of the 45 cases already filed, nine taxpayers have their tax domicile in Limeira, 14 in Americana, two in Rio Claro, three in Piracicaba, one in São Pedro, four in Nova Odessa, two in Iracemápolis, two in Leme, three in Santa Bárbara D'Oeste, one in Cordeirópolis, and four in Araras.
Despite the numerous lawsuits already filed, the work of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) is not yet complete. According to the prosecutors involved in the case, some investigations were sent to other federal prosecutor's offices due to the taxpayers' domicile. Some administrative processes have not yet been concluded by the Federal Revenue Service, which prevents the filing of charges. And, in some cases, the Federal Police are still deepening the investigations, at the behest of the MPF.
According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, despite the time elapsed, the statute of limitations has not expired for the crimes, since the statute of limitations only begins to run after the conclusion of the administrative tax process. Due to tax secrecy, no further information about the reported cases can be provided.