O PT (Workers’ Party) will ask that the MP (Public Ministry) investigates Economy Minister Paulo Guedes and BC (Central Bank) president Roberto Campos Neto for keeping companies in tax havens. The representation is being prepared by the party’s bench in the Chamber of Deputies.
At offshore de Guedes and Campos Neto were revealed this Sunday (3.Oct.2021) by the investigation Pandora Papers, from ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists). O power360 is part of this international investigation, in which 615 journalists from 149 vehicles in 117 countries participated.
>>> read on here all Pandora Papers texts published by Power360.
The PT leader in the Chamber of Deputies, bohn gass (RS), said that the bench will ask the Public Ministry for a “deep and rigorous investigation” of the case. The representation is already in preparation and will be forwarded to the PGR (Attorney General’s Office).
“Based on public service norms and the Conflict of Interest Law, the case suggests that there may have been self-advantage. In the name of fairness and transparency, the Brazilian people have the right to this information”, said Bohn Gass.
Here is what other PT deputies said about the case:
Opposition
PT will not be the only one to ask the Public Ministry to investigate the offshore by Paulo Guedes and Roberto Campos Neto. The leader of the Opposition in the Chamber, Alessandro Molon (PSB-RJ), the leader of the Minority in the Chamber, Marcelo Freixo (PSB-RJ), and the deputy leader of PCdoB, Perpetua Almeida (AC), they said they will do the same.
“It is scandalous – and illegal – for high-ranking public officials, with access to privileged information, to maintain this type of application. Investigation now”, wrote Alessandro Molon, on social networks. “Brazilian law prohibits members of the top government from maintaining this type of business”, said Marcelo Freixo.
“I will forward representation to the MPF so that they adopt legal and judicial measures against the serious indication of conflict of interest in the exercise of the position”, said Perpetua Almeida.
In addition to calling the Public Ministry, the opposition will summon Guedes and Campos Neto to provide clarifications in the Chamber of Deputies.
The BC president dissolved his offshore days in August 2020, 15 months after entering Jair Bolsonaro’s government. He claimed to power360 who made no remittances to the company after being appointed to public office.
The economy minister, on the other hand, maintains the company to this day and has not made it clear whether he has stopped moving the offshore after having entered the government. Both said the companies are declared to the IRS.
Public interest
As recorded in several texts in the Pandora Papers series, having an offshore company or a bank account abroad is not a crime for Brazilians who declare these activities to the Federal Revenue and the Central Bank, as the case may be.
If it’s not a crime, why divulge information about people whose business abroad complies with Brazilian rules? The answer to that question is simple: o power360 it’s the ICIJ they are guided by the principle of journalistic relevance and public interest.
As is well known, there is a difference in how Brazilians should register their companies.
For the vast majority of citizens with registered businesses within Brazil, the data is public. All you have to do is go to a notary office or a Board of Trade to find out who the owners of a particular company are. In the case of those who have an offshore company, even if declared, the information is not public.
There are, therefore, 2 types of Brazilian entrepreneurs: 1) those who have their companies in the country and who are exposed to the scrutiny of any other citizen; two) those who are able to open the business outside the country and whose data will be protected by confidentiality.
Those are the rules. In this space it will not be analyzed whether they are iniquitous or not. That’s the law. It must be fulfilled. It is up to Congress, if it wishes, to improve the rules. Journalism is left with the mission of reporting the facts.
It is, therefore, a function of professional journalism to describe to society what is happening in the country. There are citizens who occupy a prominent position and who must always be subjected to greater scrutiny. In this category, among others, celebrities (who live off their public exposure and often receive state subsidy); journalistic media companies and journalists (since one of their functions is precisely to investigate what is right or wrong in the country’s daily life); big businessmen; who makes donations to political campaigns; public workers; politicians in general. And there are even more explicit cases: contractors cited in major scandals, money changers, bookmakers and drug dealers.
All investigations must be judicious and never expose anyone improperly. A large businessman who chooses to open an offshore company, duly declared, has every right to do so. But the obligation of professional journalism is also to investigate big business and say how a given company takes care of its resources – always bearing in mind, when applicable, that everything is in accordance with current laws.
Many of the Brazilians mentioned in the Pandora Papers series responded proactively to the power360. They presented proof of the legality of their business abroad. They are citizens who contribute to the common good by understanding the role of professional journalism in scrutinizing who is more politically exposed in society.
The Pandora Papers series is one more of many than the power360 did in partnership with ICIJ (read about the previous ones here). It is a contribution of professional journalism to offer more transparency to society. The principle expressed in the sentence coined by the US Supreme Court Judge Louis Brandeis (1856-1941) about a century ago about access to data of public interest was followed in this report and in others already carried out: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant”. O power360 believes that in this way it fulfills its main mission as a journalism company: “Improving democracy by ascertaining the truth of the facts to inform and inspire”.
This article is part of the Pandora Papers series, from ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists). 615 journalists from 149 vehicles in 117 countries participated in the investigation.
In Brazil, journalists from the power360 (Fernando Rodrigues, Mario Cesar Carvalho, Guilherme Waltenberg, Tiago Mali, Nicolas Iory, Marcelo Damato and Brunno Kono); of the magazine Piauí (José Roberto Toledo, Ana Clara Costa, Fernanda da Escóssia and Allan de Abreu); gives Public Agency (Anna Beatriz Anjos, Alice Maciel, Yolanda Pires, Raphaela Ribeiro, Ethel Rudnitzki and Natalia Viana); and the website metropolises (Guilherme Amado and Lucas Marchesini).