Compliance and Investigations Newsletter No 11 – November 2022

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]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 lawyers.

Enjoy your reading!

Compliance and Investigations Team[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Applications for “Empresa Pró-Ética 2022-2023” Program are open

On November 21, 2022, applications for the “Empresa Pró-Ética 2022-2023” program (“Pró-Ética”) were opened.

Pró-Ética is a biannual program carried out by the Brazilian Office of the Comptroller-General (“CGU”) and the Ethos Institute, which intends to encourage and recognize the best practices of companies regarding the implementation of instruments to prevent, detect, and remediate acts of corruption and fraud, as well as to foster an organizational culture of integrity.

Any company (as long as it is incorporated), foundation, association, and foreign company (incorporated, headquartered, or with regular representation in Brazil), except for state-owned companies, can submit its application for the 2022-2023 Pró-Etica cycle.

Applications are free of charge and can be submitted by January 31, 2023, through the SAMPI System, available at CGU’s website.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Brazilian Public Transparency Radar is presented at the VIII National Meeting of Accounting Courts

The Brazilian Public Transparency Radar (“Transparency Radar”) was launched during the VIII National Meeting of Court of Accounts, held between November 16 and 18, 2022.

The Transparency Radar tool is part of the Brazilian National Program of Public Transparency and assesses the transparency level of institutional websites of Brazilian Federal, State and Municipal Executive and Legislative Branches, as well as websites of the Judiciary, Prosecution Offices, Courts of Accounts, and the Public Defender’s Office in Brazil.

In addition to assessing and disclosing transparency rates of public agencies based on criteria such as the disclosure of revenue, expenditure, payroll, public tenders and government contracts, the Transparency Radar serves as a portal that provides access to the more than 7,900 transparency online portals of public agencies that took were surveyed.

For more information, access the Atricon article and the Transparency Radar.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Operation Peita: Brazilian Federal Police and Federal Revenue carry out operation to investigate corruption scheme involving lawyers and CARF members

The Brazilian Federal Police (“PF”) and the Brazilian Federal Tax Authority (“RFB”) carried out Operation Peita, which is a branch of Operation Descarte, in order to investigate a corruption scheme involving lawyers and members of the Federal Administrative Court of Tax Appeals (“CARF”).

The operation was carried out on November 11, 2022 and involved search and seizure measures to further investigate the events.

The investigation initiated after a plea-bargaining agreement was executed with one of the investigated parties, who presented evidence of corruption and influence peddling. Evidence points toward payments made to a lawyer and a CARF member, with the purpose of influencing the judgment of administrative proceedings in order to cancel a deficiency notice issued by the RFB, involving a certain company.

For more information, access the RFB and PF articles.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Santa Catarina State publishes Decree that regulates the State’s Integrity and Compliance Program 

On October 27, 2022, the Government of the state of Santa Catarina published Decree No. 2,234/22, which regulates the Integrity and Compliance Program (“PIC”) of the State Government, created by State Law No. 17,715/19.

The Decree establishes that all agencies and entities pertaining to the government of the state of Santa Catarina must comply with the PIC. The Decree also entrusts the State’s Office of the Comptroller General (“CGE-SC”) with the task of implementing, monitoring, and reviewing the Integrity and Compliance Program, which will include, among other elements, integrity risk assessments, Codes of Ethics and Conduct and monitoring procedures.

For more information, access the CGE-SC article and State Decree No. 2,234/22.

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