The mechanism of leniency agreements was introduced in the Brazilian Legal System by the Antitrust Law and gained repercussion with the huge corruption scandals emerging from Operation Car Wash. A grave problem has arisen however, consisting of the distortion caused by the intervention of the Federal Prosecution Service in reaching leniency agreements in situations that run counter to the rules in the Anticorruption Law, according to which competence for this purpose rests with the Office of the Comptroller General. In addition to the resulting uncertainties, there has been resistance from the Federal Audit Tribunal to the exclusion of the penalty of unfitness to participate in tenders and contract with the public administration. Considering that certain illicit acts can subject the of-fender to the penalizing power of different governmental authorities, before adhering to any leniency program, parties should pay attention to the possibility of facing sanctions from multiple authorities, and conduct negotiations in light of this possibility, through what can be called “multi-leniency agreements”.
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Mauricio Moreira Mendonça de Menezes
