Important actions against corruption usually rely on the work of the “Receita Federal” (Federal Revenue) in the phases that precede every ostensive investigation stage.

The Federal Revenue is very vigilant and has been active in combating the tax evasion connected to the big corruption schemes since long before they appear on newspapers’ front pages. The intense and silent actions of investigations are not always perceived because discretion is a mark of the Federal Revenue. This way of working is a guarantee to the privacy of the citizen and stems from the law.

Just to quote a recent research, where the institution has participated in the task forces, in the most famous national anti-corruption operation, the “Lava-Jato”, the Federal Revenue has performed — quietly, as determined by the Constitution — 2.413 tax procedures. These resulted in R$ 17.1 billion in tax assessments, of which R$ 4.7 billion in audits that started in 2012, that is, two years before the outbreak of the ostensive operation phase.

In the same way, more than 120 tax procedures are in process in the context of other operations:  Calicute, Greenfield and Cui Bono operations. We do not disclose them out of respect for the law, which imposes secrecy on the Federal Revenue’s actions, to avoid disclosing the economic or financial situation of the taxpayers or third parties and the nature and the state of their business or activities.

The Federal Revenue prioritizes large taxpayers’ audits. Of the total value of assessments made in 2017, 79.36 % were applied to the segment of 8,851 largest taxpayers, which account for 61% of the federal collection, demonstrating with transparency the focus in the fight against the most important tax crimes.

If the Federal Revenue does not disclose the actions of the ongoing investigations, this does not mean that they do not exist or are not in progress. In the past year, the control actions of the Brazilian Federal Revenue generated 2,877 Tax Criminal law cases, that is, in 25.4% of the audits, the tax auditors have identified evidence of infractions. Only in the last two years, in 63 major operations made by the Federal Revenue in conjunction with other agencies, 38 involved actions against corruption or the diversion of public resources, leading to 243 arrest warrants and 258 coercive conduction orders.

Important actions against corruption usually rely on the work of the Federal Revenue in the phases that precede every ostensive phase of investigation. Currently, the Federal Revenue has more than 200 officers dedicated exclusively to intelligence work and the oversight of these large operations.

To think that the corrupt citizens are “behind bars” only as a result of the award-winning collaborations is to believe that the corrupt and their accomplices have been taken in by a kind of spontaneous collective repentance. Is it true? Or rather, isn’t it because there were facts that increased the perceived risk of many years of prison for these individuals?

In the actions to fight the corruption with a large media coverage, the Federal Revenue has actively participated in the investigations prior to the disclosure of the public phase. In this phase of intense search of evidence, and analysis of documents, joint operation with the Federal Public Ministry and Federal Police are common, each institution is acting within its field of competence. Therefore, many working hours of the Federal Revenue’s tax auditors and tax analysts have allowed “following the money’s path”. This activity seeks to obtain a set of evidence that has an essential role in the criminal investigation process, which often has the power to “raise awareness” of the future informant regarding the criminal prosecution, which seeks to mitigate the consequences of the criminal law.

The Federal Revenue, as a strong Public Institution of the State, is at the service of the society for the construction of a more rightful nation; we can make sure that the paths of those who choose to violate the tax laws are increasingly short and narrow.

Article originally published in Portuguese by the newspaper O Globo: https://oglobo.globo.com/opiniao/trabalho-silencioso-22397863

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