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Brazil: Implementing ICN’s Recommended Practices Brazil: Implementing ICN’s Recommended Practices Mariana Tavares de Araujo Secretary of Economic Law – SDE Ministry of Justice / Brazil ICN Annual Conference Moscow, 2007
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Merger Review In the past 5 years, Brazil took a number of measures to comply with ICN’s RP: Jurisdictions’ notification thresholds and timing Review period Documentation requirements Transparency concerns Coordination with other authorities “Soft convergence” to recommendations has enhanced agencies’ efficiency Still important aspects to cover that depend on amending the current legislation
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Merger Review: From Soft Convergence to Full Convergence to ICN RPs Bill with amendments to the Antitrust Law was listed as a Government Priority in January 2007 Restructure of the system Incorporation of appropriate standards of materiality as to the level of "local nexus" required for notification Elimination of notification thresholds not based on objectively quantifiable criteria (market share) Pre-merger system with no deadlines Early termination for simple cases
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Cartel Prosecution: Top Priority Brazil complies with ICN RPs for Cartel Enforcement Elements of a solid anticartel regime are in place: Clear definition of cartel in the law Institutions equipped to detect, investigate and prosecute cartels in place Firms and individuals are being punished Upward Spiral: Leniency & Dawn Raids
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Brazilian Leniency Program Created in 2000; first application in 2003 First leniency was signed only when effective enforcement had been implemented and agency already had some positive reputation on ability to uncover anticompetitive behavior Only the first-in receives leniency treatment (individuals and companies) Applicant cannot be the leader of the cartel Full or partial immunity (criminal + administrative fines) State and federal prosecutors are invited to sign agreements with administrative authorities to protect applicant from criminal liability Approximately 10 agreements were signed since 2003, and other 4 are currently being negotiated
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Recent Improvements: Regulation 04/2006 SDE identified procedural aspects that created unnecessary burdens for parties that were addressed in such Regulation ICN Materials and assistance from Fellow ICN members crucial for that purpose Leniency Program: lack of clear procedure and sufficient protection for potential beneficiary during negotiating phase: Marker System: application can be accepted on the basis of limited information; applicant is then granted time to perfect the information and evidence Regulation provides for return of documents in case no agreement is reached Oral Leniency: similar requirements as written agreement
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Leniency Program: Success Stories eniency program A sign that enforcement in Brazil is effective and that leniency program, although recent, is set in the right path, is that leniency applicants in other jurisdictions frequently come to us Growing number of candidates to the program & number of search warrants served: 2003, 2004 and 2005 – 11 warrants served and 2 people arrested 2006 – 19 warrants served 2007 (January/May) – 38 warrants served and 16 people arrested
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Cartel Prosecution: Expected Changes With respect to cartel prosecution, proposed changes of the bill include the possibility of settlements / negotiated plea agreement for cartels enormous benefits to society by persuading cartel members -- through the promise of transparent, proportional, and expedited treatment -- to cooperate early and pay the agreed sum of money We expect that with such tool more resources will be free to crack other cartels Amendments to the law were supported by ICN materials, which were all very important to convince government and private sector of need for change
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