The requirement from the parliamentarian spans from calling the president of the Financial Activities Control Council to confidential documentation of the Integration Operation.
Brazil.- Senator Izalci Lucas submitted 135 requests to the Gambling CPI, established in the Federal Senate last Tuesday, November 12. The parliamentarian was the first member of the commission to submit requests. Izalci requests from summoning the president of the Financial Activities Control Council (Coaf), Ricardo Liáo, to requesting documents from the Integration Operation, to the Civil Police of Pernambuco. The investigation concluded with the arrest of influencer Deolane Bezerra, in September.
In the request, Izalci Lucas states that the CPI should listen to Ricardo Liáo due to the role Coaf will have in monitoring gambling as one of the concerns of the commission members is the potential use of these companies for money laundering.
Also a member of the CPI, Alessandro Vieira, will request the breach of confidentiality of the alleged beneficiaries of social programs who used the money to gamble. A report from the Central Bank of August this year suggests that some of the payments are well above what the beneficiaries could afford, raising doubts about possible fraud.
In the report, the Central Bank states that 5 million beneficiaries spent R$ 3.000m (USD 518m) on gambling in August. But the average expenditure is R$ 100 (USD 17), meaning half of the people spent up to that amount, totaling R$ 250m (USD 43m). The remaining R$ 2,750m (USD 475m) was spent by 2.5 million people, or R$ 1,100 (USD 190) each, much more than the average value of the Bolsa.
The CPI will have 130 days to conduct its work, with a spending limit of R$ 110,000 (USD 19,000). According to the request, the CPI will also investigate the possible association of online gambling companies “with criminal organizations involved in money laundering practices, as well as the use of digital influencers in the promotion and dissemination of these activities”.
See also: Online gambling in Brazil: the banking sector concerned about family indebtedness
The intention, according to Soraya Thronicke, is to analyze practices of monetary evasion and money laundering, in addition to the influence of Brazilian personalities in the operation of gambling programs. The suspicion is that the software is programmed to cause losses to gamblers and always ensure an exaggerated profit margin for the companies. After reading the request in the Plenary, the senator also highlighted the fact that addiction to online games is silent, unlike addiction to alcohol or illicit drugs.
