FCPAméricas Blog
No World Cup Tickets for Brazilian Federal Officials
6.05.2014
This guest post is from Thiago Jabor Pinheiro, a Senior Associate at Mattos Muriel Kestener Advogados (MMK) in São Paulo, Brazil.
Just days before the kickoff of the FIFA World Cup 2014, federal authorities in Brazil have issued regulations to prohibit Federal Executive Branch public officials from accepting invitations to World Cup games and events.
On May 20, 2014, the Public Ethics Commission (CEP) of the Presidency of the Republic issued Circular Letter No. 210/2014-CEP, forwarding to public authorities in the Federal Executive Branch its Guidance Note No. 2, of May 19, 2014 (NO No. 2/2014). The CEP Note is based on the Conflicts of Interests Law (Federal Law No. 12.813/2013) and on the Code of Conduct for High-Level Officials of the Federal Administration.
In item 2, the circular sets forth that federal public authorities must not accept invitations to games or festivities of the World Cup, whether or not they include travelling and lodging expenses. The prohibition applies to Ministers, Secretaries of State, Executive Secretaries, Presidents and Directors of agencies, foundations, state-owned companies and companies partially owned by the state, among others.
Moreover, on May 30, 2014, the Office of the Federal Comptroller General (CGU) issued Normative Instruction No. 1/2014 (NO No. 1/2014), published in the Federal Official Gazette on June 2, 2014. The CGU regulation applies to the public officials of the Federal Executive Branch not subject to the rules of the CEP, and prohibits the acceptance of “invitation, ticket, transportation or lodging to attend or participate in events related to the FIFA World Cup 2014”.
Unlike the CEP, CGU includes a number of exceptions to the prohibition, to allow the acceptance of invitations: (i) distributed by the Public Administration or by the organizing entities related to FIFA, such as the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF); (ii) from relatives and friends who bear the expenses of purchasing the tickets; (iii) from promotions or sweepstakes open to the public; (iv) when in connection with the institutional role of the public official, with the approval of the public body or entity; or (v) distributed by public companies as part of their institutional activities, provided there is no conflict of interests.
In situations described in items (iv) and (v) above, the NO No. 1/2014 sets forth that the institutional role is “that which is related to the representation of the body or entity, its image, function or ends, or to meet public interest reasons.” If the attendance of the public official is approved, the body or entity must make available to oversight bodies the records showing such approval.
It is important to note that the rules mentioned above make reference only to the invitations and events related to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, not to large-scale events in general. Nevertheless, their provisions offer insights on how CEP and CGU may interpret the Conflicts of Interests Law on similar occasions in the future, which is useful for planning the organization or sponsorship of major events.
The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author in his or her individual capacity, and do not necessarily represent the views of anyone else, including the entities with which the author is affiliated, the author`s employers, other contributors, FCPAméricas, or its advertisers. The information in the FCPAméricas blog is intended for public discussion and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice to its readers and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It does not seek to describe or convey the quality of legal services. FCPAméricas encourages readers to seek qualified legal counsel regarding anti-corruption laws or any other legal issue. FCPAméricas gives permission to link, post, distribute, or reference this article for any lawful purpose, provided attribution is made to the author and to FCPAméricas LLC.
© 2014 FCPAméricas, LLC
Post authored by Guest
Comments