ETCO supports 10 MPF measures against corruption

By ETCO
30/01/2019
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Bill toughens penalties and needs 1,5 million signatures to reach Congress with the force of popular initiative bill

 

Operation Lava Jato has shown that Brazil has made progress in fighting corruption. It has already spawned many investigations, revelations, allegations, convictions and, what is rare in so-called white-collar crimes, even large returns of money. But one of the main bodies responsible for this work, the Federal Public Ministry (MPF), which has a constitutional mission to investigate crimes against public property, believes that the progress is insufficient. According to the MPF, with the current laws and lawsuits, the country is in serious danger of, in a few years' time, seeing many of the corrupt and corrupting Lava Jato, and other crimes of the kind, get rid of the chain and other punishments.

To try to act also in these spheres, the agency carried out a study on the points that it considers flawed in Brazilian legislation, analyzed laws from other countries and put together a series of change projects around ten themes. In addition, it created a campaign to collect 1,5 million signatures and have these measures presented to the National Congress as a bill of popular initiative, which increases its legitimacy and pressure on parliamentarians to discuss changes proposals.

Nicolao Dino, Deputy Attorney General of the Republic, explains the objective of the work: “In addition to the investigations being carried out by the Federal Public Ministry, we believe that it is also possible to contribute to this scenario by presenting a set of suggestions with the aim of improving the functioning of the Improve our legislation and thereby also reduce the feeling of impunity that is present in our society ”.

In September, the ETCO-Brazilian Institute of Competition Ethics became an official supporter of the Campaign.

To participate in the popular initiative Bill, you must fill out a form with your personal data, sign and deliver it to one of the MPF posts. More information can be obtained at campaign website. Below are the main proposed changes.

 

The 10 measures against corruption
1. Prevention of corruption, transparency and protection of the information source
  • It creates time limits for legal proceedings, of three years in the first instance and one year in the higher instance.
  • It obliges public agencies to invest in internal deviation prevention campaigns.
  • It increases protection for those who provide important information for the investigation.
2. Criminalization of the illicit enrichment of public agents
  • It allows condemning a civil servant who has an increase in wealth far in excess of his income and is unable to prove the lawful origin of the money even if the crime is not discovered.
3. Increased penalties and heinous crime for high-value corruption
  • Today, the minimum penalty is 2 years, half of which is stipulated for common theft. And those who receive a minimum sentence usually exchange the sentence for community service. For the project, the minimum penalty rises to 4 and the maximum penalty to 12 years. Therefore, whoever is convicted will serve at least half-open sentences.
  • Corruption involving values ​​above one hundred minimum wages is now considered a heinous crime, losing benefits that imply a reduction in sentence.
4. Efficiency of resources in criminal proceedings
  • It allows the convicted defendant to begin serving his sentence before the end of all appeals, when the judges understand that he is abusing the right to appeal.
  • It eliminates some types of resources and sets shorter deadlines for others.
5. Speed ​​in administrative misconduct actions
  • It simplifies and speeds up the process against public agents who commit an illegal act in the exercise of their function.
  • It allows the MPF to enter into a leniency agreement with defendants who confess their crimes.
6. Reform of the penal prescription system
  • It hinders artifices used to prolong the proceedings and lead to the prescription of the crime.
7. Adjustments to criminal nullities
  • It reduces the chances of a lawsuit or evidence being set aside because of errors in the investigation that did not affect the defendant's right of defense.
8. Accountability of political parties and criminalization of cash 2
  • It also allows the party, and not just its official, to be punished for the practice of keeping resources in parallel to the official account.
  • It turns cashier 2 into a crime, with sentences of 4 to 5 years in prison.
9. Pre-trial detention to ensure the return of embezzled money
  • It expands the circumstances in which the Justice can keep the accused in prison, in addition to situations involving risk of escape and destruction of evidence, to increase the chances of recovering embezzled money.
10. Recovery of profits deviated from crime
  • It allows to confiscate, from those convicted of corruption, the part of the property that cannot have its lawful origin proven, regardless of whether it is possible to prove the deviated value.

 

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