CGU and AGU enter into three Leniency Agreements in the last week of 2022

On December 28, 2022, the Office of Comptroller General (CGU) and the Office of the Attorney General (AGU) entered into Leniency Agreements with the following companies: (i) BRF S.A (food processing sector); (ii) Resource Tecnologia e Informática Ltda. (technology sector); and (iii) Mar Holding Participações S.A. and Operadora e Agência de Viagens TUR Ltda. (tourism sector).

The Leniency Agreement executed with BRF S.A. is the result of undue payments made by the company to public officials, as revealed by the investigations conducted by the Federal Police under Operation “Carne Fraca” and Operation “Trapaça”. The Leniency Agreement established the obligation for BRF to pay the amount of BRL 583.977.360,48 as reimbursement of damages and fines pursuant to Law N.12.846/13 (Anticorruption Law) and Law N. 8.429/92 (Improbity Law). Under the Leniency Agreement, BRF also committed to improving its compliance program.

In addition, the Leniency Agreement executed with Resource Tecnologia e Informática Ltda. is related to misconducts against the public administration committed between 2014 and 2015, as revealed by investigations conducted by the Federal Police under Operation “Chiaroscuro”. After the Qintess group acquired Resource in 2019, CGU and AGU were sought out by the company to negotiate the Leniency Agreement. The company’s cooperation was acknowledged by CGU and AGU and reflected in the mitigation of the sanctions applied against the company. Under the Leniency Agreement, Resource assumed the obligation to pay the amount of BRL 14.567.326,98 as reimbursement of damages and fines pursuant to the Anticorruption Law. As the company had already been paying values to the National Treasury’s account, the remaining payment obligation is about BRL 2,9 million. Furthermore, Resource also committed to improving its compliance program.

Finally, the Leniency Agreement executed with Mar Holding Participações S.A. and Operadora e Agência de Viagens TUR Ltda. is related to undue payments made by the company to public officials through third parties in order to obtain advantages in connection with tax proceedings. The misconducts took place between 2013 and 2015 and were revealed by the Federal Police in the context of Operation “Descarte”. The Leniency Agreement established the obligation to pay the amount of BRL 74.376.821,93 as reimbursement of damages and fines pursuant to the Anticorruption Law and the Improbity Law. The amount will be fully paid by Mar Holding Participações S.A. Furthermore, the companies committed to improving their compliance program. According to information made available by CGU, the negotiations that culminated in the Leniency Agreement were conducted in a coordinated fashion between the CGU, AGU, and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPF). The MPF has not yet announced the execution of the Leniency Agreement with the companies.

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