Senate approves punishment for companies involved in corruption.
Currently, only public officials caught in corruption cases are punished – there were no penalties for corrupt legal entities, which can now pay fines ranging from 0,1% to 20% of their annual gross revenue or amounts between R$ 6 and R$ 60 million; the Anti-Corruption Law now goes to the President for approval.
From the Senate Agency - The Senate approved in a symbolic vote, this Thursday (4), the Chamber Bill (PLC) 39/2013, from the Executive, which holds legal entities administratively and civilly liable for acts against the national or foreign public administration. The bill, known as the Anti-Corruption Law, which now goes to the President for sanction, allows the punishment of companies that engage in actions such as offering undue advantage to public agents, rigging bids and financing illicit acts.
Currently, only public officials caught in corruption cases are punished – there were no penalties for corrupt legal entities, which can now pay fines ranging from 0,1% to 20% of their annual gross revenue or amounts between R$ 6 and R$ 60 million.
In presenting the report, Senator Ricardo Ferraço (PMDB-ES), rapporteur for the matter in the Plenary, said that, in addition to meeting the recommendation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the project enhances Brazil's image on the international stage.
"With an anti-corruption law, international companies would have renewed incentives to direct their investments to Brazil, since the country's business environment would be characterized by greater transparency and legal certainty," he stated.
Q&A
According to Senator Kátia Abreu (PSD-TO), it would be important for the bill to also include a provision for punishing what she called an "adventurer"—the contractor who wins bids but lacks the infrastructure to carry out the work and sells the opportunity to the second-place bidder at an inflated price.
"He needs to be sanctioned. For example, he should be banned from participating in bidding processes for a period of five years," he said.
Senator Jorge Viana (PT-AC) also advocated for an end to direct or indirect donations from legal entities to candidates or political parties. In his view, for this and other reasons, election campaigns have become synonymous with corruption in Brazil.
Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE) praised the Executive's initiative and recalled that the project could prevent situations like the one that occurred during his time as Minister of Health (2003-2005), during the so-called Operation Vampire. Even with the identification of the companies that sold blood products to the Unified Health System (SUS) through fraudulent bidding processes, none were indicted.
"What's happening today is that the same companies directly involved in those corruption schemes continue to sell to the government," he noted.
Senator Pedro Taques (PDT-MT), author of the bill that classified corruption as a heinous crime (PLS 204/2011), approved last week, highlighted the strict liability of legal entities contemplated in the anti-corruption law.
- The Public Prosecutor's Office, together with the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), will only need to prove the fact, the result, and the causal link. This is very significant in an investigation, in a criminal case - he explained.