The biggest corruption scandals in Brazil (Ranking) 536zq

Political corruption in Brazil is nothing new for anyone. For years, scandals involving politicians have occupied the main headlines of newspapers and TV. The country is even considered to be the scene of the biggest corruption scandal in the world, discovered by the Operation Lava Jet. And as Brazilians tend to have poor memories, we've separated the biggest corruption scandals in Brazil so you don't make a mistake when voting. And right after the most famous cases, we still talk a little more about How does corruption work in Brazilian politics?. Check it out! 162p4d

What is corruption? 676lr

Starting with the basics: what is corruption? By its basis, corruption is some factor that distorts some natural course. In the case of political corruption, we can consider that this “distortion” of things works in favor of particular benefits on the part of those who acted in bad faith. the NGO International Transparency defines political corruption as “the abuse of political power for private purposes".

These actions start from interference in bureaucratic or democratic processes, always seeking to gain an advantage in some way. That is, whenever you hear that a politician or another has been involved in episodes of corruption, know that he, knowingly, acted so that natural processes were manipulated in order to achieve some benefit. Despite the various types of advantages that exist, money is usually the main reason for corruption – not only, but mainly, political.

There is also the Corruption Perception Index (I), a metric that lists 180 countries and territories worldwide according to the perceived level of corruption observed there. The IPC score determines the country's position in the ranking of corruption: the higher the score, the less corruption in the country, and vice versa.

The grade is like an assessment of the “amount of corruption” in that place, while the position shows where that country is in relation to others. O Brazil, according to the list updated in 2021, is in 96st place with note 38. In of comparison, in first place is Denmark, with 88 points, and in last place is South Sudan, with 11 points.

Tolerance to corruption is not a deviation of the Brazilian character, a propensity and cult of immorality, not even a situation of cordiality, but a practical disposition born of a culture in which preferences are limited to a context of needs, representing a strategy of survival that occurs for the material question.

Fernando Filgueiras, Director of Research and Stricto Sensu Graduate Studies at the National School of Public istration (Enap), sharing a little about his concept of corruption aimed at the Brazilian people. Source: CLAD

What types of corruption are there? 81v3f

And just as there are many ways to benefit from corruption, there are also many other ways to practice these acts. Regardless of the way political corruption is carried out, someone will be harmed, directly or indirectly linked to the acts.

Because it is an interference in the natural course of things, the final destination of the act of corruption may or may not be reached, but it usually has a disastrous consequence in the end. See the types of corruption that exist:

• Extortion: forcing someone to do something against their will and threatening them - physically or not - with the intention of gaining some financial advantage. Extortion is a crime, according to article 158 of the Brazilian Penal Code;
• Nepotism: establish relatives or close friends in positions - usually political - to the detriment of people actually assigned to those positions. An example is the appointment of family without any experience to a position of trust, to the detriment of a qualified professional with experience;
• Tip: also known as suborno, it is the act of offering money so that the recipient of this amount does not act ethically. This practice is considered a crime in most settings around the world;
• Influence traffic: the act of taking advantage of privileged positions or positions in entities and companies — or even connections with people in higher positions — to obtain benefits for oneself or others. Influence peddling usually requires some form of payment, such as favors, in return.

Other well known in the political environment can also be mentioned, such as the overpricing of public budgets, fraud in licensing and other government projects, forge notes fiscal ghosts for undue profit, active corruption e ive, in addition to others.

Socrates says that it is better to suffer an injustice than to commit something unjust. In his view, it is necessary to respect the laws of the city and always comply with the of a fair agreement. Therefore, he considers it inissible for his friends to commit something illicit to repair the injustice that Athens had practiced with him, refusing any undue advantage.

Draiton de Souza, dean of the School of Humanities, talking a little about the concept of corruption for the philosopher Socrates. Source: PUCRS Magazine

History of corruption in Brazil 253n54

Spending a few minutes on the internet leads us to various articles, texts and videos talking about politicians involved in some episode of corruption. But don't think that this is something recent - most likely the Corruption took place at the same time that democracy was born. Returning to our reality, it is very important to understand how some cases of corruption happened in our own country, to help in the choice of our next rulers. Let's take a look at the most recent cases.

Corruption in the Dictatorship 1b3s5g

Starting with the highly known Military coup of 1964, the corruption practiced by the military during the Dictatorship were hard for the entire population. Extremely current aspects, such as the theory of adherence to communism in Brazil, moralistic discourses and extreme patriotism were widely disseminated, mainly by the military, politicians from the conservative wing and middle class workers.

The period, which ended in 1985, showed how much National Democratic Union (UDN) could not accept having lost 3 consecutive elections. When they managed to get elected on the 4th attempt, their presidential candidate, Jânio Quadros, resigned the year after taking office. Then the military, together with the UDN, articulated a maneuver to overthrow the democracy of the time. One of the examples of corruption during the Dictatorship was the extinction of the CGI, the General Investigations Commission, which investigated, precisely, cases of military corruption.

The Collor government 1o1f1t

Shortly after José Sarney's government - which also did not unscathed in cases of corruption - Brazil faced another period of great political crisis, leading then-President Fernando Collor to impeachment. One of the most evident cases of corruption during the government color was known as "Confiscation“: people with more than Cr$ 50.000 in their savings had the amount confiscated by the government.

Many people across Brazil have been affected by the “economic plan“, which clearly violates the right to property, provided for in the Constitution. Even today, citizens who lived through this period fear another moment of “confiscation”, fearful even of leaving their money stored in banks. Added to other episodes, Fernando Collor suffered an impeachment process and was removed from office, with his deputy, Itamar Franco, assuming the post.

Corruption in the FHC era 3e2a72

Fernando Henrique Cardoso's government — a period between 1995 and 2002, with two of office — also had moments of political corruption. One of the cases was that of reelection in positions of the Executive Power, based on wiretapping. On the occasion, deputy Ronivon Santiago stated that he and 4 other deputies received R$ 200 thousand to vote in favor of reelection in the positions of the Executive Power at the time.

After the investigations, no evidence of participation of the then president was found - even with the resignation request of Ronivon and the other deputies. In another case that, although there was no conclusion on corruption, already in the second term of the FHC Government, it was the “Blackout Crisis“. At the time, an energy rationing was drawn up that ended up affecting many regions of the country, mainly in the Southeast.

Corruption in the PT: Lula and Dilma 2b5hu

In 2005, the most important episode of corruption in the government occurred. Squid: monthly allowance. At the time, a vote-buying scheme was investigated, which was denounced by Roberto Jefferson — who later made a plea bargain. One of the discoveries was the pension reform, approved in Congress with the purchase of these votes.

Assuming Brazil's first female president, the government of Dilma Rousseff was also involved in corruption cases. In 2014, the start of the Operation Lava Jet, which investigated a corruption scheme at Petrobras, through which politicians were paid bribes so that they acted in the interests of the companies involved.

Michel Temer's government 22a4h

As in the 64 coup, the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff and the presidency of Michel Temer is itself an act of corruption. In this ocasion, Michel Temer, Dilma's vice president, had to deal with the publication of recordings by Romero Jucá, that government's planning minister, suggesting a change in the Dilma government so that Operation Car Wash would be stopped.

Soon after, the whole case involving the refrigerator also came to light. JBS. In an accusation, there was a recording in which Temer authorized the purchase of the silence of Eduardo Cunha, who had been arrested. In addition, the recording made by the owner of JBS still contained excerpts in which Temer indicated another deputy, Rodrigo Rocha Loures, to resolve JBS's issues. Joesley Batista, president of the company, was also filmed delivering a suitcase with R$ 500 thousand to Rocha Loures.

Bolsonaro's government 5l2g58

Starting in 2019, the government Bolsonaro was elected with the proposal to fight corruption with all his strength. One of the corruption attempts was when the president and other officials signed a decree authorizing commissioned officials to impose top-secret secrecy on public data — which was overturned shortly thereafter. Still on the lack of clarity of information, there are records of at least 13 attempts to obstruct access to public information by the Bolsonaro government.

Nepotism also happened here. President Bolsonaro tried to name his own son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, as the ambassador of Brazil to the United States. Professionals in the field, especially other diplomats, did not see the attitude as healthy, and after some pressure from all sides, Eduardo Bolsonaro declined the suggestion.

Because it is the current government, it is still possible to cite more recent examples such as the “cracking” practices by the Bolsonaro family. O Queiroz case was the most discussed, mainly about a check for BRL 24, in the name of Michelle Bolsonaro, which was justified as a payment of a “loan of BRL 40”. At "cracks” are acts of corruption, when officials are forced to give most of their salaries — sometimes even all of it — to those who “employed” them, as if it were a mixture of nepotism and bribery.

Regarding the purchase of vaccines against COVID-19, there were also corrupt practices, with the acquisition being delayed by more than a few weeks at the insistence of President Bolsonaro himself. The COVID-19 I investigates all irregularities in health spending, omission in the purchase of vaccines, among others.

Also check out other corruption cases that stood out the most in the country:

Budget Dwarves (90s) 2l6d71

With 37 deputies investigated, of the PTB and PMDB parties, during a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry — the famous I — in 1993, the corruption case Budget Dwarves embezzled BRL 800 million from public coffers. At the center of the scheme was the Deputy João Alves de Almeida, member of the Budget Committee in Congress, where the corruption scheme took place. Famous for his “good luck”, the deputy bought winning lottery tickets to launder the stolen money.

The corruption scheme operated through three different schemes: the main scheme included funding for large public works through commissions of contractors. In the second case, deputies approved amendments for philanthropic entities owned by oranges, or even relatives. And, finally, the third case included the hiring of the construction company Seval, which belonged to Deputy João Alves himself, for public works requested by city halls, upon payment of fees. The operation resulted in the impeachment of six deputies and the resignation of another four.

Razor in the Flesh (2007) e5g3a

As with the Budget Dwarves case, the scheme Razor in the Flesh used parliamentary amendments to carry out public works. This case of corruption began in the city of Camaçari, in Bahia, but spread to eight other states (Alagoas, Sergipe, Pernambuco, Piauí, Maranhão, Goiás, Mato Grosso and São Paulo) and the Federal District, diverting funds from the ministries of Mines and Energy, Transport, Cities and National Integration, in a total of R $ 1,06 billion.

The numerous frauds in bids and unexplained works had as their center the contractor Gautama. In all, 49 arrest warrants were issued, including for the former governor of Maranhão, Jackson Lake (PDT), two of his nephews — Alexandre de Maia Lago e Francisco de Paula Lima Junior — Jose Reinaldo Tavares (PSB), District Deputy Pedro os (PMDB), Joao Alves Neto, son of former governor João Alves Filho (DEM-SE), the mayors of Sinop, Nilson Aparecido Leitão (PSDB-MT) and from Camacari, Luiz Carlos Caetano (PT-BA).

Judge Lalau (90s) s1j6g

led by judge Nicolas dos Santos Neto — who became known as Lalau — and the former senator Luis Estevao, from the Federal District, the corruption case diverted around $ 2 billion of funds in the construction of the forum of the Regional Labor Court in São Paulo. In 1992, the works of the forum were initiated through a tender won by the Incal construction company, which were abandoned in 1998, a month after Judge Nicolau left the commission responsible for the construction. Only 64% of the work was completed, despite 98% of the budget being released.

In 1999, during an investigation, Congress discovered transfers of resources and capital from the construction company Incal to the OK group, which belonged to senator Luiz Estevão, who was arrested in 2001, but only in 2016, the then former senator was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Judge Nicolau received the presidential pardon of the former president Dilma Rousseff in 2014.

Jorgen de Freitas (1991) 2b2a4g

Jorgina de Freitas, a lawyer and social security attorney in the late 80s and early 90s, led for two years a scheme responsible for multi-million INSS fraud, such as indemnities and benefits that were intended for people who were already dead or who were not should receive such high values. The scheme was discovered when, in 1991, an internal investigation by the INSS found that only the forklift driver, Alaíde Fernandes Ximenes, had benefited from US$ 90 million (current values) – a sentence annulled in 2010 by the Federal Attorney General’s Office.

Another 20 people participated in the INSS corruption scheme, however, Jorgina became known for fleeing the country before her conviction in 1992 — helped by a Chilean mafioso involved in the PC Farias scheme — and for the numerous plastic surgeries she had to avoid being recognized. . In 1997, the former prosecutor was arrested in Costa Rica, and, after being repatriated to Brazil, she was sentenced by the courts and forced to return R$200 million. Jorgina was released in 2010 and died in a car accident in July 2022.

Pension Funds (2015) g173d

Pension funds, which today encom around 2 million beneficiaries and hold around 15% of the public debt, are created to guarantee retirement and pensions for employees of state-owned companies. However, during a I held in 2015, small transactions, involving purchases of private securities, raised suspicions. According to an estimate by the I, which has already asked for the indictment of more than 200 people, more than R$ 3 billion were diverted from the pension funds of state companies through fraudulent contracts.

Bank Marka (1999) 45913

In January 1999, during the devaluation of the real, the central bank needed to raise the dollar ceiling — from R$1,22 to R$1,32. However, the Marka Bank, from the banker Salvatore Cacciola, had bet on the appreciation of the national currency — holding 20 times its net worth in dollar futures sales contracts — and with the rise of the dollar, it suffered a billionaire collapse.

Cacciola then resorted to central bank, who sold dollars to the bank Brand at a price far below the market without any legal justification — causing a loss $ 3,7 billion, in current values, to the public coffers. During a I, it was discovered that Cacciola had inside information on the Central Bank, causing the dismissal of the institution's directors. The president of the Central Bank at the time, francisco lopes, received a sentence of 10 years in prison, while the banker Cacciola was arrested only in 2008, in Monaco, and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Health Vampires (1990 – 2004) 1r2k66

With a duration of at least 14 years, the scheme health vampires deviated about $ 4,08 billion, in current values, from the Ministry of Health. The corruption case manipulated and overpriced the purchases of medicines and blood products - which gave the name of the operation - through fraud in bids and payment of bribes. The center of the fraud would be the General Coordinator of Logistics Resources, which mediated these purchases and involved, in addition to companies and employees of the Ministry of Health itself, federal deputies.

About 17 people were arrested during the Vampire Operation da Federal police in 2004, the vast majority were of the Ministry of Health. The Minister of Health at the time, Humberto Costa (PT), who asked for the investigation to be opened, was even denounced by the Federal District Attorney's Office for involvement in the scheme, but was exonerated.

Zealots (2015) 3u1v5o

In the top 3 of the biggest corruption scandals in Brazil is the Zelotes. Started in 2015 to determine the payment of bribes to of the istrative Council of Tax Appeals (Carf) — organ of Ministry of Finance responsible for judging appeals from companies fined by the IRS — the operation is still in progress. In total, more than 70 companies - including banks, automakers and contractors -, as Cars, Ford, Bradesco, Santander, Grupo RBS (an of Rede Globo) and Harvest Bank, are suspected of paying bribes, through lobbyists, to cancel or reduce fines imposed by the IRS.

Furthermore, Operation Zealots also found evidence of the sale of Provisional Measures (MP) to extend tax incentives to companies in the automotive sector. According to the Federal Police, the estimated damage to public coffers is $ 19 billion.

The ex-president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) he was even indicted on suspicion of purchasing provisional measures that would benefit automakers in his government. However the own Federal Public Ministry asked for the ex-president's acquittal for lack of evidence, who was acquitted by the Judge Frederico Botelho de Barros Viana, of the 10th Federal Court of the Federal District.

Banestado (90s) 5b1p3z

O banished, Banco do Estado do Paraná, served for years as a way to illegally send funds to tax havens abroad, whose transfer took place through CC5 s — a type of created by the central bank to assist Brazilians residing abroad to exchange national currency for foreign currency. The amount sent irregularly abroad was about US $ 30 billion, in season. However, the crime is due to non-payment of the taxes involved and the damage to the government due to non-collection is uncertain.

The scheme was discovered in 1996, after a deviation of US$ 228 M by one of the exchange agents of the banished, Darius Messer. The agent then provided details on more than a hundred s held by the institution. During the I, 91 people were indicted for crimes against the financial system, tax evasion, money laundering, tax evasion and active corruption.

Among them, the money changer Alberto Yousseff, who was accused of moving $876,8M monthly between 1996 and 1999. Yousseff collaborated with Prosecutor handing over other money changers to lessen his sentence, but he became an important part of the main corruption scheme in Brazil.

Lava Jato (2009 – 2021) 54566z

A Operation Lava Jet is considered the largest anti-corruption operation in the world, having started in 2009, with the discovery of the alleged business owner's illicit acts. Alberto Youssef — the money changer already involved in other corruption scandals in Brazil, such as the case banished and monthly allowance. Initially, the Federal police discovered Youssef's involvement with federal deputies, which eventually made the authorities follow him more closely.

Four years later, in 2013, the Federal Police found that the businessman introduced the former director of the Petrobras, Paulo Roberto Costa, with a luxury car. With the strange situation, the federal police began to invest more deeply in the whole scheme. When analyzing the deviations that occurred at Petrobras, the investigators discovered deviations in almost all public works in the country at that time. All were interconnected.

Throughout the investigations, politicians and large businessmen and public persons were indicted. Among them are the former President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT); former PT treasurer, Jose Roberto Vaccari; the then president of the contractor Odebrecht, Marcelo Odebrecht; Ernesto Cervero, who at the time was president of the Petrobras; and more than 40 other names, involving practically all the major national parties. Among those arrested, only former governor Sérgio Cabral (CIS) remains in prison.

In all, more than BRL 42,8 billion were diverted, of which the operation managed to recover BRL 25 billion. Those responsible for the investigations were: Sérgio Moro — who also judged the case of the banished - Rodrigo Janot, Deltan Dallagnol and their teams from the Federal Public Ministry and the Federal Police. On October 2021, XNUMX, the Operation Lava Jet was officially closed.

Secret Budget (2020 – Currently) 1224i

In 2019, the country's budget planning was carried out (Annual Budget Law, LOA) to 2020 and from there began what is currently known as the secret budget. President Bolsonaro vetoed this expansion of resources, but when he arrived in Parliament, it could have been overthrown. Fearing the risk, the government negotiated with the parliamentarians to maintain the veto, but that half of what had been proposed, R$ 30 billion, would be the responsibility of the rapporteur at the time.

The biggest indication of corruption involving the Secret Budget is the lack of transparency, since who participates ends up not being clear in their identification, facilitating undue diversion. Bolsonaro even denies having carried out this negotiation. the senator Randolph Rodrigues, for example, claims that Bolsonaro condemns everything that is said publicly, but practices everything he denies to the media.

Not just the lack of transparency of information, experts say that there is a serious lack of planning for these resources, especially when referring to their destinations. There is no defined criteria base on the withdrawals of these amendments, but it is a fact that, despite being used by of the opposition, most of it ends up going to the government allies.

The Brazilian economy 2q2312

As corruption is intrinsically related to money, then public coffers are directly affected, and as a consequence, public services suffer. Health, security, education, infrastructure, food, all this and more, lose all their quality — when there is still something to be offered with the remaining budget. In addition, the TAX ID No (Gross Domestic Product), which represents the country's profits, is also always achieved, with a result below expectations.

A ONU (United Nations) has already carried out a study pointing out corruption as the great villain of our development, retaining at least BRL 200 billion annually, something that represents between 4% and 5% of GDP. This same study shows that in the last 10 years corruption has affected public banks causing a loss of 2 trillion and 400 billion reais (R$ 2.400.000.000,00).

Year	GDP value	growth variation
2010	3,88 trillion	7,5%
2011	4,37 trillion	4%
2012	BRL 4,81 trillion	1,9%
2013	BRL 5,33 trillion	3%
2014	BRL 5,77 trillion	0,5%
2015	BRL 5,99 trillion	-3,5%
2016	BRL 6,26 trillion	-3,3%
2017	BRL 6,28 trillion	1,3%
2018	BRL 7,04 trillion	1,8%
2019	BRL 7,1 trillion	1,1%
2020	BRL 7,4 trillion	-4,1%
2021	BRL 8,7 trillion	4,6%

Corruption Ranking 1hw4x

Brazil is full of corruption cases that involved millions and even billions of reais — according to what has already been discovered, as it is capable of having much more behind the news. Soon after, a compilation of some of the most notorious cases will be shown, followed by the amount of money involved. Check out:

case name	Year	Amount involved
Budget Dwarves	Between 1980 and 1990	R $ million 800
Razor in the Flesh	2007	R $ 1,06 billion
Judge Lalau and the TRT-SP	Between 1992 and 1998	$ 2 billion
Jorge de Freitas	1991	$ 2 billion
Pension funds	2015	$ 3 billion
Marka Bank	1999	$ 3,7 billion
health vampires	Between 1990 and 2004	$ 4,08 billion
Zelotes	2015	$ 19 billion
banished	1996	US $ 30 billion
Operation Lava Jet	Between 2014 and currently	$ 131,6 billion
secret budget	Between 2020 and currently	BRL 62,5 billion (+ BRL 19,4 estimate for 2023, totaling BRL 81,9 billion)

So here's our last alert: research well who your candidate will be, regardless of the position he/she intends to occupy and vote with conscience! Did this article help you to clarify a little more about the subject? Tell us in the comments!

So, did you know all the cases on our list? Tell us in the comments!

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Sources: JusBrasil, Valor Econômico, with the BBC, IBGE, IBGE Agency e International Transparency.