CGU orders companies to present documents to renegotiate leniency agreements

The Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) reported this Tuesday (16) that it determined that the eight companies that requested renegotiation of leniency agreements signed as part of the Operation Lava Jato investigations present documents proving the status of their accounts.

The request was made as a result of the decision of Minister André Mendonça, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), to discuss the possibility of renegotiating the agreements signed with the CGU and the Attorney General’s Office (AGU). The hearing took place on March 12, 2024 and the decision was released this week.

The action filed by the PSOL and PCdoB parties seeks recognition of the “unconstitutional state of affairs” of the agreements signed before the Technical Cooperation Agreement (ACT) between CGU, AGU, Ministry of Justice and the Federal Audit Court (TCU), due to alleged irregularities in the context of Operation Lava Jato. Among the action’s requests are the financial renegotiation of agreements and the use of tax credits and court orders.

The parties claim that the companies were pressured to sign agreements under duress and abusively by the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) despite the Anti-Corruption Law and before the establishment of the ACT. Among the companies that requested renegotiation are the former Odebrecht (currently Novonor), the OAS group and Camargo Corrêa.

Minister Vinícius de Carvalho highlighted that the objective of the meeting was to provide transparency about the procedures that will be adopted to comply with the STF’s determination.

During the meeting, the companies were informed about the possibility of renegotiating the agreements, conditioned on compliance with previously assumed obligations, such as cooperation with investigations and implementation of integrity measures.

The Secretary of Private Integrity, Marcelo Vianna, clarified that the renegotiation is provided for in a decree and depends on the recognition that the agreements were concluded without coercion on the part of the CGU and AGU authorities.

Companies must present documentation proving their financial situation for technical analysis, which may result in changes to the “payment profile” of agreements, depending on financial performance.

Furthermore, he was informed about the possibility of using credits arising from tax losses to pay debts, according to the legislative change that occurred in 2022.

Requests for renegotiation will be analyzed by the CGU and AGU team, and a final decision will be submitted to the ministers of the bodies.