Deltan and Moro propose amendments for the return of Coaf to the Central Bank

The first parliamentary amendments proposed by Senator Sergio Moro (União Brasil) and by federal deputy Deltan Dallagnol (Podemos) in Congress, this Thursday (2), intend to overturn part of the text of provisional measure 1158, of January 12, 2023, which transfers from the Central Bank to the Ministry of Finance the attributions of the Financial Activities Control Council, the Coaf.

Coaf is the body that detects suspicious financial transactions and works to prevent and combat crimes such as corruption and money laundering. According to Deltan Dallagnol, the agency was essential to detect illegal payments investigated by the Lava Jato operation and also in the case of cracks, involving Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL/RJ).

The deputy believes that the council should remain at the Central Bank to ensure greater efficiency in combating money laundering, reducing possible political interference. “Coaf is a control body, which was created within an important international expansion of the fight against money laundering. Because when you fight money laundering, you fight the crimes that generate money. The person who commits the crime of corruption, drug trafficking, aims to profit and, if you manage to prevent him from using the economic benefit he has with these crimes, you discourage their practice”, explains Dallagnol.

Money laundering was criminalized in Brazil in 1998, with Law 9613, which created the council. Today, the agency is able to identify suspicious financial transactions that occur in banks and brokerages, for example. “It identifies movements that deviate from the normal pattern of operations, identifying signs that may characterize money laundering. And one of the main sources of money laundering, in addition to trafficking, is corruption,” explains the deputy.

Senator Sergio Moro was in the same line as Deltan and presented proposals for amendments to MP 1158 – among them, one that proposes the same amendment for Coaf. For Moro, the Central Bank has autonomy, illustrated by the mandate given to the president. The indications of Bacen directors still need to be approved by the Senate. In the current institutional configuration, Coaf, at Bacen, is better protected against political interference in its activity, not justifying its transfer to the Ministry of Finance, according to the senator.

Still referring to the MP, Moro proposed an amendment that intends to modify the way in which decisions regarding inflation targets by the National Monetary Council (CMN) are voted. Currently, approval of a simple majority of members is required for approval of decisions within the council. The senator intends that, in order to change or set inflation targets, the approval be by unanimous vote, in order to guarantee soundness of the currency and avoid salary losses.

“It is a relevant proposal that establishes greater protection in relation to CMN decisions regarding inflation targets and tolerance intervals”, he justifies. The proposal also points out that, if there is no unanimity in the vote at the CMN, the vote that proposes the lowest target prevails.

political interference

In the case of the transfer of Coaf to the Ministry of Finance, deputy Deltan Dallagnol believes that, under the authority of the Central Bank, the body has guaranteed autonomy, without political interference in its attributions. “When we have a government that has been investigated, prosecuted for major corruption scandals, it is desirable from the point of view of institutional governance that this council be able to work independently in a technical way, without political interference”, he says. “It is very worrying that one of the first measures of the Lula government is the transfer of Coaf from under the wings of the Central Bank, independent, to the Ministry of Finance, which is being led today by a politician (Fernando Haddad), and not a technician “, it says.

MP 1158

MP 1158, authored by the Presidency of the Republic, was published in the Official Gazette of the Union on January 12 of this year with the purpose of modifying the binding of the Brazilian Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF), removing Coaf from the scope of the Central Bank and returning it to the Ministry of Finance. The council was under the responsibility of the Ministry since its creation, having been transferred to the BC in the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government.

The proposal also alters the composition of the CMN and the Technical Commission for Currency and Credit, with the justification of placing it in line with the basic organization of the bodies of the Presidency of the Republic and ministries instituted by Provisional Measure No. from 2023.

The report contacted the press office of the Ministry of Finance for a position on the justification for transferring Coaf to the authority of the body. Until the publication of the matter, there was no response.