Tag: Fight against corruption

Controllership investigates alleged cartel formation

The Municipal Comptroller General is investigating the existence of a supposed fraud in the electronic auction carried out for the contracting of cleaning and conservation services for schools and Unified Educational Centers (CEUs) in the municipality. The investigation request was made by the Municipal Department of Education, responsible for contracting the services.

According to a report published last Tuesday (5) by the newspaper “O Estado de S. Paulo”, the names of the winning companies in the bid were informed to the newspaper on July 25, by telephone and e-mail, a hour and thirty minutes before the start of trading.

Based on a preliminary analysis by the Comptroller General of the Municipality, which showed low competitiveness among the companies that competed in the electronic auction, the City of São Paulo revoked the bid. Mayor Fernando Haddad argued that the person who made the complaint to the newspaper report to the Comptroller to contribute to the investigations.

The Controllership appointed a team to analyze the bidding process. According to the general controller of the municipality, Mário Vinícius Spinelli, the entire procedural rite will be mapped in search of evidence of cartelization. He also highlighted the importance of effective participation by society, denouncing any irregularities, so that crimes against the administration are curbed.

If the practice of cartel is proven, an accountability administrative process will be initiated by the Comptroller. Companies whose participation in the fraud is proven will be subject to the application of Law No. 12.846. Regulated in May by the Municipality of São Paulo, the so-called Anti-Corruption Law provides for the application of fines of up to 20% of gross revenue to companies that benefit from unlawful acts committed against the public administration.

The Controllership will also forward the information obtained in the investigations to the Public Ministry of the State of São Paulo and to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE).

Source: Portal of São Paulo City Hall

ETCO will have support from Machado Meyer in events on combating corruption

Machado, Meyer, Sendacz and Opice Advogados, through their practice area Compliance and Corporate Integrity, led by lawyer Leonardo Ruiz Machado, will support the Brazilian Institute for Competition Ethics (ETCO) in the actions developed by the entity with a focus on supporting the fight against corruption. The partnership was built in a meeting held with ETCO's executive president, Evandro Guimarães, on July 3, at the institute's headquarters in São Paulo.

At the time, the participation of the lawyer as a speaker in two events on Law 12.846 / 13, also known as Anticorruption Law, which are being organized by ETCO was agreed. The seminars, with a date to be defined, will discuss the impacts of the new law for companies, especially with regard to the relationship with public agents. The Anti-Corruption Law has been in force since January 29, although it has not yet been regulated by the Federal Executive Branch with respect to one of its most innovative points: compliance.

In addition to participating in the seminars, Machado Meyer will collaborate with ETCO in the development of other initiatives to support the fight against corruption scheduled for 2014.

About Machado, Meyer, Sendacz and Opice

Founded in 1972, Machado, Meyer, Sendacz e Opice Advogados is one of the most respected law firms in Brazil. With operations in all areas of law, it offers legal assistance to national and international clients, including large corporations from the most varied sectors of activity, financial institutions and government entities. The office is present in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and New York.

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CEDES and CADE promote debate on compliance and defense of competition

On August 28 and 29, the Center for the Study of Economic and Social Law (CEDES), in partnership with CADE, will hold a seminar to address the issue Compliance and Competition Defense. The panels will present elements essential to competitive compliance, in addition to effective programs and international experiences.

The seminar will be held in the TRF auditorium of the 3rd Region, with headquarters at Avenida Paulista, 1842, 25th floor - Bela Vista - São Paulo / SP. To participate, simply register for free at the link: http://www.trf3.jus.br/semag/

Febraban to hold 4th Congress to combat and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing

In early August, Febraban performs the 4th Congress on combating and preventing money laundering and financing of terrorism. The event will address the Anti-Corruption Law and the Access to Information Law, in addition to discussing corruption from the perspective of the Electoral Law. Among the speakers, names such as Mário Spinelli, General Corregidor of the Municipality of São Paulo and Sérgio Nogueira Seabra, CGU's Secretary of Transparency and Corruption Prevention, are confirmed. Registrations can be made directly on the Febraban website.

Data: 07th and 08th of August
Location: São Paulo State Trade Federation (Fecomércio)
Address: Rua Doutor Plínio Barreto, 285 - Bela Vista - São Paulo / SP
More information: http://www.febraban.org.br/Arquivo/Servicos/Eventoscursos/PLD2014/index.asp

The Evil of Corruption

"Public health in Brazil goes from bad to worse." For decades this phrase has permeated the reality of all Brazilians, whether they are users of the Unified Health System (SUS) or workers in the sector. And who is responsible for the problem? For a complex question, there are several answers, one of which is very common - corruption.

Yes, corruption is ingrained in negotiations, fraud and deviations from the SUS, and must be combated with rigor. But would corruption be a cause or an effect? Diagnosis or symptom? The main causes of the permanent crisis in the public health system stem from the lack of focus on actions and the devaluation of the civil servant's career. To summarize in two words: inefficient management.
The first step is to shift the focus to results. A recent report by the Federal Court of Auditors ratified the chaotic conditions of public health in Brazil, but innovated by including in the audit procedures the analysis of the quality of care.

For the first time, a control body was concerned not only with the correct application of public money, but also with the standard of care provided to SUS users. This does not mean that, from now on, the ends justify the means, but that, in addition to bids, contracts and agreements, managers and inspectors will also have to turn to the user's satisfaction.
It is also necessary to change the reality of health unit professionals. Maintaining the status quo of civil servants is unable to meet society's demand for quality services.

It is necessary to review the career plans of statutory professionals, with the inclusion of remuneration based on performance indicators, so that workers feel motivated to overcome their own limits and, thus, return to invest in the public career as a life goal. .

All public health problems result from the current management model. Or rather, the lack of management. The current model is eminently procedural, without due observance of the results to be achieved, based on backward legislation that plagues public administration.

It is a model devoid of the managerial tools necessary for the strategic, tactical and operational planning of SUS, as well as for the management of the daily routine of public health units.

Reinventing the current SUS management model is the main challenge in offering quality services to patients and family members, as well as curbing the rampant corruption that plagues SUS from the north to the south of the country.

By José Carlos Pitangueira Filho, physician, he is the Director of Projects of the National Institute of Assistance to Health and Education (Inase).

Originally published in O Globo, on 20/06/2014.

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For Hage, Law 12.846 / 2013 brings a clear message: corruption does not pay

Jorge Hage, Chief Minister of the Comptroller General of the Union (Photo: Agência Brasil)

Irreversible advance

In effect since January 29 this year, although not yet regulated, Law No. 12.846 / 2013 is the most recent piece added to the construction, started in 2003, of the Brazilian Anticorruption System. This is its true meaning, and not that of an isolated initiative, resulting from the 2013 protests, as I have read in misinformed articles. If the protests sensitized Congress, accelerating its approval, great; but do not omit that ex-president Lula sent this project still in 2010.

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Congress ratifies Brazil's accession to the International Academy against Corruption

An important step towards combating corruption in the country was taken at the end of 2012, with the publication of the text of Legislative Decree 0590/2012, which ratifies Brazil's adherence to the Agreement for the Constitution of the International Academy against Corruption.

Approved by the Senate Plenary on December 20, PDS 550/2012, which ratifies the constitution of the International Academy against Corruption as an International Organization, had already been approved by the Chamber of Deputies on November 14.

The agreement to establish the Academy against Corruption was signed in Vienna in October 2010 and signed by Brazil in December of the same year. The measure has as main objective to constitute a center of excellence aimed at education, training, cooperation and research in the prevention and fight against corruption. The function of the center would be to contribute with the countries in the implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (Uncac), of which Brazil is part.

The International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) is an international organization based in Vienna, Austria, and aims to contribute to the global fight against corruption by developing theoretical and practical knowledge on the subject. Its main mission is to facilitate anti-corruption education, offering courses for professionals and practitioners from all sectors of society.

At the end of 2010, the IACA had 55 members and, on 8 March 2011, it became an international organization. The IACA currently has 61 members and observer status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the European Council's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO).

“Corruption vs. Development”

ETCO Magazine - October 2012 / Nº 19 - Year 09

“Corruption vs. Development”: The large volume of resources that will be invested around the world calls for transparency between public and private.

View the magazine in full (PDF)

Highlights of this edition:
Bolivar Lamounier: How to settle the bill for 500 years of nepotism and the habit of appropriating public resources

Marcos Neder: The return to dividend taxation in Brazil and its harmful effects on growth

Combating tax evasion: The first results of the Electronic Invoice Intelligence System

Interview: Edney Silvestre talks about his new book “Happiness is easy” and says that decency is always possible