Anticorrupçao e compliancea incapacidade da lei Nº 12.846/2013 para motivar as empresas brasileiras a adoçao de programas e medidas de compliance

Abstract

ABSTRACT The thesis developed in this study is that the Act 12.846/2013, also known as anticorruption law, will not trigger an increased use of compliance programs or simplified compliance measures by Brazilian companies. Administrative and civil sanctions are not as deterrent as criminal sanctions. Using an economic approach we have proved that a rational economic agent would not invest in compliance, because the expected utility arising from the offense greatly exceeds the utility a company could get in case they did not commit the offense on account of the extremely low probability of being caught and punished. Besides that, the incentives offered – a partial reduction of the administrative fine only, without the possibility of reducing the civil sanctions – do not compensate the costs of compliance. And ultimately, the possibility of either a non-prosecution agreement or a deferred prosecution agreement, reducing the fine up to two thirds eliminates the advantages of companies which use compliance programs in comparison to the ones which do not. The research is structured in four chapters. The first chapter analyzes, in light of comparative law, the regulatory choices available to the legislatures to punish legal persons, as well as the types of culpability and the criteria to attribute the acts of individuals to legal persons. The second chapter examines compliance in the context of regulatory capitalism, as a responsive regulation strategy for imposing corporate criminal liability. The third chapter shows that the administrative and civil regime of Act 12.846/2013 is not as deterrent as a criminal regime would be. In addition, the chapter examines the act through the lenses of the economic analysis of law, concluding that there is not a credible threat of punishment in Brazil for acts of corruption. Comparing the fines that would be applied to five different fictitious companies, the research has proved that companies, when reflecting on costs and benefits of compliance programs, would prefer to direct their resources into other activities. The fourth chapter presents the elements of compliance programs and proposes standards for the assessment of its effectiveness under two criteria: the presence of structural components and the effectiveness of their performance. The conclusion is that, so as to unbalance the market of corruption, it would be essential to greatly enhance the probability of detection, investigation and punishment of illicit acts, and, at the same time, increase the benefits offered to the companies which implement an effective compliance program. Otherwise, relying on the inefficiency of the system and thus not implementing compliance will still pay off, though. Keywords: Anticorruption. Compliance. Act 12.846/2013. Corporate crimes. Brazil.