In Brazil Corruption Launders More Money than Drug and Numbers Game Mafias

Corruption is the chief crime behind money-laundering in Brazil, in the opinion of the Minister of the Federal Appeals Court (STJ, Superior Tribunal de Justiça), Gilson Dipp. In his view, corruption is more significant than other crimes and misdemeanors, such as narcotraffic and the numbers racket.

Dipp participated yesterday, August 3, in a seminar on money-laundering at the headquarters of the Rio de Janeiro State Public Defense Ministry. According to Dipp, the biggest flow of money to be laundered comes precisely from crimes against public administration, that is, crimes of corruption.


For the STJ Minister, the investigations currently underway in the National Congress involving charges of corruption may speed up approval of the new law that includes the penal misdemeanors and tax evasion associated with unreported campaign funds as antecedent crimes in money-laundering.


The bill for the new law is still being analyzed by the Presidential Advisory Staff. “We are going through a moment of political turbulence, and next year is an election year, but it is possible that Congress will assign priority to the debates over the new law,” he added.


The Minister also emphasized that, while corruption is present everywhere, the difference between Brazil and other countries “is the certainty of impunity.”


In his opinion, the suspension of fiscal and banking privacy, telephone taps authorized by the courts, and lighter penalties for defendants who cooperate in investigations are effective instruments in the fight against corruption in Brazil.


Another participant in the seminar, Neal Gunnarson, state prosecutor from the US state of Utah, recalled that since 1997 Brazil and the United States have had an agreement for the repatriation of funds of unknown origin, but he criticized the Brazilian bureaucracy when it comes to expediting the procedures.


Gunnarson argued that Brazilian prosecutors should have more decision-making autonomy, as is the case in the United States. The American prosecutor also said that the law concerning money-laundering is more rigorous in the United States and that they have been able to intercept suspect funds before they reach the hands of terrorists.


Agência Brasil

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazilian Gets 5 Years for Bribing US Official and Sheltering Illegals

A former Allston (Boston) man, an undocumented Brazilian, was sentenced this Tuesday, January 23, ...

Police Seize 7 Tons of Drugs at Brazil-Paraguay Border

In two days, the Brazilian Federal Police (PF) in the state of Paraná, South ...

Brazil’s Samba Schools Teach Condoms Are Good for You

The "Only Happiness Will be Contagious This Carnaval" project, launched 14 years ago by ...

Brazilian Industry Grows But Timidly

Industrial production in São Paulo rose 2.95% in May, compared to April. It was ...

She Can’t Forget the Brazilian Sea

No matter what, the sea always comes through in nearly all of Brazilian painter ...

Brazil’s Trade Balance Surplus Reaches US$ 31 Billion, 11% Lower than in 2006

Exports from Brazil totaled US$ 3.343 billion last week, a performance 21.69% lower than ...

Investing in Brazil Is Investing in South America, Says Lula

Talking in São Paulo, where he took part in the Brazil & Partners: Investment ...

Brazilian Indian Women Raped While Waiting to Get Land Back

Two old Indian women from the Guarani people, in Brazil, were raped by security ...

The Economist to Discuss Role of Brazil in New World Order

The Economist. the British group who publishes a business magazine of the same name, ...