Revenue decides to share data on money laundering with the Attorney General’s Office and PF

From the 1st, federal auditors will be able to provide the Federal Public Ministry with more details about signs of money laundering detected by the IRS. The Tax Authorities may forward evidence to bodies such as the Federal Police and the Attorney General's Office so that they can open investigations into the identified irregularities.

The possibility was opened with the publication, by the Revenue, of an ordinance that deals with criminal representations made by federal auditors. The regulations follow changes suggested by the MPF in 2022, 'with the aim of expanding and facilitating the work of the two bodies in combating tax criminal offenses'.

According to the Federal Public Ministry, before the change, when the Tax Authorities were faced with suspicions of laundering, they could only communicate them to the investigative bodies, without detailing the evidence or providing evidence about the cases. In the Prosecutor's Office's assessment, this barrier ended up preventing the agency and the PF from starting investigations.

“Now, under the new rule, auditors who come across signs of laundering in the course of their activities can send this evidence to investigative bodies, such as the MPF or PF, to begin investigations,” explained the Attorney General’s Office.

Carlos Frederico Santos, coordinator of the MPF Criminal Chamber, says that the measure facilitates and expands the fight against money laundering.

Public prosecutor Henrique de Sá Valadão Lopes, coordinator of the Support Group on Money Laundering, Tax Crimes and Financial Investigation and Crimes Against the National Financial System, explains the impact of the rule: “Imagine that, during a customs inspection, the Revenue found drugs inside a container. She will obviously contact the police and the Public Prosecutor's Office and will hand over the seized drugs. Now, if she found a case of laundering, and not drug trafficking, she would not be able to send what would be equivalent to 'the drugs' from the laundering.”