Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG).| Photo: Roque de Sá/Agência Senado.

Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said this Thursday (15th) that he is unaware of the content of Bill 2720/23 that punishes banks for discriminatory acts against politicians in opening accounts and other financial activities. The proposal was forwarded to the Senate, after the text was approved by the Chamber of Deputies, on Wednesday (14).

According to Pacheco, as soon as the text reaches the Senate, it will take notice and decide which committees it will be submitted to before going to the plenary. “I didn’t even know about the existence of this project in the Chamber. But, obviously, approved in the Chamber, when it reaches the Senate, we will know the text and identify which committees it should go through. But I don’t know the text, I can’t give an opinion”, said Pacheco.

The approved substitute significantly changed the initial proposal, which restricted criticism against “politically exposed persons” and punished companies that discriminated against this category in their selection processes. The first version of the project, authored by congresswoman Dani Cunha (União Brasil-RJ), proposed a penalty of two to four years in prison and a fine for anyone who criticized a person who was “politically exposed” or who had been denounced and even convicted in cases that had not yet been have passed judgment.