Former attorney at Aneel starts advocating against the Union – 02/19/2024 – Panel SA

The AGU (Attorney General of the Union) opened two preliminary procedures to determine whether Luiz Eduardo Diniz Araújo, former attorney general of the Federal Attorney’s Office at Aneel (National Electric Energy Agency), broke rules that prevent conflict of interests between civil servants of the high-ranking.

Diniz Araújo has been on leave from AGU since September and resigned from his role as federal prosecutor at the agency in November. He currently practices law for a private firm.

Until September last year, the lawyer, who had a career as a Union prosecutor, was the AGU’s arm at Aneel.

The measures that were taken by the agency passed through his hands, and, in many cases, he had to give a legal opinion to say whether they were in accordance with current legislation or whether they harmed the interests of the Union.

Deeply knowledgeable about the intricacies of the biggest legal disputes in the electricity sector, Araújo took a leave of absence from his position and, in November 2023, began working at the Wald, Antunes, Vitta, Blattner firm.

One of the largest legal firms in the country, the company defends, among other clients in the sector, the Transnorte Energia consortium in an arbitration process in which Aneel is a party to the dispute.

This situation caused discomfort in the AGU and the Ministry of Mines and Energy. Behind the scenes, the government’s legal department considered taking legal action under the argument that the legislation prohibits a federal prosecutor from advocating against the Union, even with a license.

However, Diniz Araújo works in the office armed with a document from CEP (Public Ethics Commission, of the Presidency of the Republic) and CEAGU (AGU Ethics Commission) that authorized him to provide consultancy.

However, he remains prohibited from acting, appearing in powers of attorney or receiving legal fees from any private legal activity against the federal public administration.

“I did not ask for dismissal from the AGU, but for a license. During the license, private law can be practiced, paying attention to the restrictions placed in these two documents”, Araújo told Panel SA.

With the shutdown, discomfort with the government increased. This is because Araújo began to advise directly on million-dollar cases relating to matters that could harm the defense of the Union.

The AGU confirmed that a preliminary procedure against Diniz Araújo is taking place at CEAGU and another at the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. Both are confidential.

Wald, Antunes, Vitta, Blattner and the Ministry of Mines and Energy declined to comment on the case.

With Diego Felix

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