Anti-corruption plan submitted to Congress
The packagewas sent on Tuesday (17) to Congress by Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo
The series of measures referred to as 'anti-corruption package' has been submitted by the government to the National Congress. The plan was officially unveiled today (Mar 18) by President Dilma Rousseff. Among other things, the document defines the crime of raising slush funds, and presents a bill that makes it mandatory for public officials in all three government branches—Executive, Judiciary, and Legislative—to have a clean record.
The package—one of Rousseff's promises in her electoral campaign—was sent on Tuesday (17) to Senator Renan Calheiros, head of Congress, by Justice Minister José Eduardo Cardozo and Minister Pepe Vargas, chief of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations. The proposal also includes a constitutional amendment which provides for the seizure of assets acquired through criminal means, administrative misconduct, or unjust enrichment.
As for donations aimed at electoral campaigns, the plan defines raising slush funds as the inclusion of false information or the omission of data from the campaign's bookkeeping in an attempt to conceal the source, target, or use of assets, resources, or services. The penalty for this crime ranges from three to six years in jail, and may be imposed on a political party, natural person or company representative. A fine of five to ten times the undeclared amount donated would also be applicable.
According to the presidency, the package further lays out bills and constitutional amendments which would provide the government with power to “take action against several corruption fronts.” Among the suggestions is a 2005 draft defining unjust enrichment as having, acquiring or using assets incompatible with one's income or accretion of property. The crime would be punishable by up to eight years in prison.
In conclusion, also among the government's anti-graft measures is a document that establishes and regulates companies' criminal responsibility regarding accounting misconduct and also the procedures for leniency agreements.
This story includes further reporting by Karine Mello, from Agência Brasil.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Anti-corruption plan submitted to Congress
