Chamber approves bill that punishes discrimination against politicians

The Chamber of Deputies approved a Bill that establishes punishment for those who discriminate against politically exposed persons in banks and financial institutions. The text sent to the Senate provides for a prison sentence of 2 to 4 years and a fine for anyone who denies opening an account or maintaining it, or even granting credit or another service.

The proposal includes elected politicians and holders of high positions in the three powers (Executive, Legislative and Judiciary) and in the three spheres of government (federal, state and municipal). The proposal also covers people who respond to preliminary investigation, detailed term, inquiry or any other investigative procedure of criminal, civil or administrative infraction, or people who appear as defendants in ongoing legal proceedings (without final judgment).

In the case of politically exposed persons, the project’s norms also affect the legal entities in which they participate, their relatives and close collaborators. Relatives, in the direct line, up to the second degree, spouse, partner and stepchildren are considered family members.

Also considered politically exposed and covered are those people who are, abroad: heads of state or government; senior politicians; holders of senior government positions; general officers; members of higher echelons of the Judiciary; top-level executives of public companies and leaders of political parties.

Likewise, the text considers politically exposed persons to be senior leaders of public or private international law entities, such as United Nations bodies, for example.

For the identification of politically exposed persons, the National Register of Politically Exposed Persons (CNPEP), available on the Transparency Portal, or in other official databases of the public authorities, must be consulted. In the case of people from abroad or foreigners, open sources and public and private databases must be consulted.

The text defines that, in all cases, the condition of politically exposed person has a duration of five years, counted from the date on which the person ceased to appear in the listed positions.

Financial Institution

The proposal amends the law on the sanctioning administrative process of financial institutions (Law 13,506/17) to require a document with the motivation for cases of denial.

As for the claim, the document must contain technical and objective reasons for the refusal, not being able to claim refusal only because of the applicant’s condition as a politically exposed person or even because the person appears as a defendant in an ongoing judicial process or has a conviction decision without transit on trial.

If the legal representative of the financial institution refuses to present these documents to the applicant, he will be liable for any moral and property damage caused, without prejudice to criminal liability.

The documents must be delivered within five working days, under penalty of a daily fine of R$ 10,000.

Reviews

In a note, Transparency International (TI) says that the text was processed in an “accelerated rite” and that it directly attacks a central instrument in the fight against money laundering and the use of oranges: additional monitoring and taking measures to mitigate risks with in relation to holders of public positions and functions who, due to their professional activities, present additional risks of money laundering and financing of terrorism.

“This project was discussed for the first time only last week and was not on the agenda of the Chamber of Deputies yesterday [14]. Instead of being discussed by the three thematic committees that had competence over the subject of the project, a plenary opinion was presented to replace these committees. The substitute text had not even been presented to the deputies themselves, who had access to the project just minutes before the vote. This prevented any discussion about the merits and risks of the project”, says the entity in the note released Thursday.

According to TI, the project puts at risk three assessments on compliance with anti-corruption and anti-money laundering measures in international organizations: the Anti-Bribery Working Group of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the International Financial Action Task Force (FATF); and the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).

Defense

In the evaluation of the leader of União Brasil, deputy Elmar Nascimento (BA), it is not about creating privileges, but about ensuring that people who intend to enter public life are not intimidated by financial rules.

“It is inadmissible for a daughter of one of our partners, one of our nephews, without any kind of problem, to have her account suspended simply because she is the son, nephew, or relative of a politician,” he said. These rules keep people away from public life, said the deputy.

*With information from the Câmara de Notícias Agency

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