Compliance and Investigations Newsletter – June 2024

The Compliance and Investigations Newsletter aims to provide information on the main media news, trends, cases and legislation concerning compliance matters, in Brazil and abroad. This material is for informational purposes and should not be used for decision making. Specific legal advice can be provided by our legal team.

Enjoy reading!

Compliance and Investigations Team

CGU and AGU present settlement proposal to the STF to renegotiate leniency agreements

On June 27, 2024, the Brazilian Office of the Comptroller-General (“CGU”) and the Federal Office of the Attorney-General (“AGU”) presented to the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (“STF”) the final proposal to settle leniency agreements, within the context of the action against the violation of a constitutional fundamental right (“ADPF”) No. 1,051/DF, which addresses the suspension of pecuniary obligations imposed in all leniency agreements executed between the State and companies investigated during the “Lava Jato” Operation.

The CGU waived the interest charges while contractors were delinquent, but intends to charge the SELIC rate to correct the balance from now on. The payment schedule will be renegotiated according to the companies’ payment capacity. However, the sum of these benefits may exceed the maximum release of up to 50% of the updated debtor balance of each leniency agreement.

The CGU and AGU requested to the STF a 30-day extension for completing the evidentiary stage. This additional deadline is also aimed at concluding discussions on ancillary clauses to the agreement, such as the deadline and value of each installment. The negotiation will be submitted for assessment and approval after this process.

Currently, no sanctions can be applied to companies due to potential default in the payment of financial obligations agreed upon.

Find out more about the case: Access the CNN report and the CGU’s report.

CGU fines companies in more than BRL 9 million for Anti-Corruption Law violations

On June 21, 2024, the Brazilian Office of the Comptroller-General (“CGU”) sanctioned four companies and one individual involved in irregularities regarding the use of resources under the “Rouanet” Law (Federal Law for Cultural Promotion), and granted two requests for summary judgment regarding offenses by public officials and the submission or irregular documents.

The proceedings that led to the liability of the legal entities involved a number of damaging acts, such as fraud against the application of federal public funds based on the “Rouanet” Law; a bid-rigging scheme with overpricing and oversizing of the respective bid; and the offering of an irregular document in a bidding procedure.

Fines applied in administrative liability proceedings amount to BRL 9,194,029.50.

For more information about the cases, access the article on the CGU portal here.

AGU and CGU sign leniency agreement with Norwegian companies

On June 13, 2024, the Brazilian Office of the Comptroller-General (“CGU”) and the Federal Office of the Attorney-General (“AGU”) signed a leniency agreement with Viken Shuttle AS, Viken Shipping AS and Viken Fleet I AS, Norwegian privately held limited liability companies headquartered in Bergen, Norway. In 2019, the CGU initiated an Administrative Liability Proceeding (“PAR”) to investigate irregular practices in the bidding and contracting processes carried out by Transpetro International BV.

The total negotiation amount was BRL 151,858,867.25, which includes payment of undue advantages, presumed damages and the fine provided for in the Administrative Improbity Law (Law No. 8,429/92). In addition to paying the agreed amounts and cooperating with the investigations, the companies are committed to improving their integrity programs, preventing the possibility of harmful acts against the government. 

For more information, access here.

Artificial intelligence tool developed by the CGU is presented during the G20 in Paris 

Between June 25 and 27, 2024, the Brazilian Office of the Comptroller-General (“CGU”) took its anti-corruption working group to the G20’s Second Technical Meeting of the Anti-Corruption Working Group (“GTAC”) in Paris, to present its proposals on combating corruption. As part of the discussions, the CGU presented the artificial intelligence tool “Alice” (Analysis of Bids, Contracts and Tenders – Analisador de Licitações, Contratos e Editais – Alice), developed and used by the CGU to identify irregularities and inconsistencies in bids, contracts and public tenders.

The GTAC highlighted that artificial intelligence could assist in the early identification of inconsistencies and signs of fraud, reducing cases of corruption and waste of funds.

For more information about the tool and GTAC’s work, access here.