On April 25, 2025, the Office of the Comptroller General (“CGU”), the Office of the Attorney General (“AGU”) and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (“MPF”) entered into a Technical Cooperation Agreement. The aim of this Agreement is to expand and improve the coordinated negotiation, conclusion and execution of leniency agreements regulated by Law No. 12,846/2013 (“Clean Companies Act”). One of the goals of the Technical Cooperation Agreement is to formalize the collaboration between the entities, thus ensuring a greater degree of legal certainty for companies seeking to adhere to this model of settlement with the Public Administration.
The Technical Cooperation Agreement outlines a series objectives to be accomplished by Brazilian regulators. Among these goals are: (i) the increase of legal certainty for companies due to the greater predictability given to sanctions arising from leniency agreements, thus avoiding their overlapping; (ii) the promotion of the exchange of information between the regulators with more effective parameters and thresholds; and (iii) the greater of contact between the signatory bodies and the easiness to address any existing conflicts.
In this sense, the coordinated action of the CGU, the AGU and the MPF in all stages of leniency agreements is the default rule under the Technical Cooperation Agreement, with cases where there is no coordination explicitly mentioned as an exception. Even so, for cases in which coordination does not occur, the regulators have to communicate to the others since the negotiation phase. In each specific case, the coordinated action will be covered by a memorandum of understanding between the regulators and the legal entity seeking the settlement, in which the rights and responsibilities of the parties will be established.
It is worth noting that the Technical Cooperation Agreement does not prohibit the MPF from adopting an independent term of leniency agreement in cases of coordinated action with other bodies, provided that the obligations, rights and responsibilities of the legal entities are established according to objective and similar criteria, reflecting the alignments undertaken with the other bodies.
The Technical Cooperation Agreement, which will be in force for five years, also stipulated that, during the regulators’ joint activities, the entity responsible for evaluating and monitoring the integrity programs, as provided for in Article 45, item IV, of Decree No. 11.129/2022, is the CGU.
The CGU, the AGU and the MPF undertook to ensure that the leniency agreements include clauses prohibiting the use of information and evidence against the legal entity when applying other sanctions not provided for in the respective agreements, except for the obligation to disgorge the damage caused.
Furthermore, the Technical Cooperation Agreement encompasses a work plan which (i) lists specifications aimed at enabling the collaborative activities by the regulators; (ii) justifies the drafting of the regulation; (iii) lists the outcomes expected from its implementation; and (iv) presents an action plan for the maintenance and enhancement of the Technical Cooperation Agreement. For more information, please contact us.