Lula signs anti-faction project to combat crime

President Lula (PT) signed the anti-faction bill on Friday (31). The measure is the Ministry of Justice’s main bet to try to suffocate organized crime. The proposal, which is expected to be published in an extra edition of the Official Gazette later on Friday, will now be sent to the Chamber of Deputies. One of the points is that now, the qualified criminal organization will be called a criminal faction under the law. The measure focuses on two main axes: increasing penalties for those involved in criminal organizations – a point that faced internal resistance within the government; and the creation of new investigative tools. The central point of the project is to give the state mechanisms to ‘choke off money’ from factions. To achieve this, the text provides, among other measures, the infiltration of police officers into companies suspected of being used to launder crime money. A measure that was included in the initial versions of the proposal, however, was removed from the final text signed by Lula: the creation of a protection mechanism for judges and police officers investigating organized crime. According to reports, the item was removed because the issue had already been addressed in another bill authored by Senator Sérgio Moro (União-PR), which was recently sanctioned by the president. The signing of the anti-faction project is a direct response from the federal government to the security crisis and mega-operation in Rio de Janeiro. The proposal, which is now headed to Congress, focuses on two main fronts: tougher penalties and new investigative tools. It is still uncertain what will be changed in the text sent to Congress. In the original version, in the punishment axis, the text increases the maximum penalty for the crime of organized crime from the current 8 years to 20 years. In cases involving serious violence – as seen in the Rio operation – the maximum penalty can reach 30 years. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice’s project seeks to facilitate financial investigation. The proposal provides mechanisms such as the infiltration of police and collaborators (informants) into criminal organizations and even the creation of fictitious companies by the government, pretending to be part of the scheme in order to dismantle it from within. The text also establishes rules to keep these actions confidential. The main points are: Increased penalty: it raises the maximum penalty for the crime of organized crime, currently at 8 years, to 20 years. If there is the use of serious violence (such as in the Rio mega-operation), the maximum penalty can reach 30 years. Infiltrated agents: facilitates the infiltration of police and informants into criminal organizations to investigate the internal structure. Fake identities (protected by law): to ensure secrecy, the project provides that public agencies create ‘fake identities’ (with name, affiliation, etc.) for infiltrated agents. These false documents would be kept for at least 4 years after the end of the operation to ensure the officer’s safety. Fictitious companies: the proposal also allows the government to create ‘fictitious companies’ (front companies) to pretend to be part of the criminal scheme, with the aim of dismantling the money laundering network. Judicial intervention in companies: if there are indications that a real company is being used by a faction, the judge may order a ‘judicial intervention’, appointing an external manager to take over the business administration. Financial suffocation: at the time of intervention, the judge will also decree an immediate block on all financial and corporate operations of the company, as well as suspending any contracts it has with the government. *Post in update Daily Recap From Monday to Saturday, the news you can’t miss delivered directly to your email.