Glossary of Brazil investigative terms

This glossary contains Brazilian terms related to criminal or corruption investigations, and supporting concepts from politics, the law, government, criminology, and law enforcement.

This glossary is not a general or indiscriminate list of terms from Brazilian Portuguese, and is limited in scope. Because this is a specialized glossary, the first meaning(s) listed for a term will be the one(s) related to topics within the scope of this glossary, even if that is not the most common meaning in the spoken or written language for the term in a more general context.

Words which present no particular issues of translation or understanding, such as governador ("governor"), investigação ("investigation"), operação ("operation") are generally not included. Words which may appear to be obvious on the surface, but which have specialized meanings in certain contexts, are included (e.g., ': not just "prison", but also "arrest"; or ': not just "resource", but also "appeal", "appellate"). Common expressions for governmental agencies or positions are included for convenience (), even if the translations are straightforward, as they come up frequently in definitions of less obvious terms.

There is one alphabetical list, with headwords in Portuguese or English, and aliases, translations, or explanations given as appropriate. This glossary concerns meaning and usage in Brazilian Portuguese. To avoid constant repetition, where the word Portuguese appears alone, it means Brazilian Portuguese.

A
Active corruption: The act of offering a corrupt payment or service. See.

Acordo de leniência: a leniency agreement between a company and legal authorities. It's an agreement a company enters into with law authorities, to reduce their exposure to fines for criminal activity in exchange for something; typically an agreement to assist in investigations. Part of the. Chapter 5 of the Anti-corruption Act provides the legal underpinning for companies to enter into leniency agreements with the authorities. Similar to in its plea bargaining aspect, but a leniency accord deals with a company's assets not its employees. See also (Odebrecht–Car Wash leniency agreement).

Anti-Corruption Act: a law enacted in 2014 targeting corrupt practices (pt:Lei anticorrupção (Brasil)) among business entities doing business in Brazil. It defines civil and administrative penalties, as well as the possibility of reductions in penalties for cooperation with law enforcement under a written (Leniency agreement). See. Aliases: Clean Company Act; Law no. 12.846/2013

Apartamento funcional: Executive apartment set aside in the capital, Brasília, by the government for the use of members of the while they are in the capital, typically half the week.

Atibaia: See.

Autor:

plaintiff or claimant in a civil suit. Syn: '. See also '. Expressions: parte autora: plaintiff ("complaining party") In other contexts: in the more common, non-legal sense, just like "author" in English.

B
Brazil cost: the increased cost of doing business in Brazil based on in-country factors, such as administrative corruption, excessive bureaurocracy, dysfunctions in import-export operations, inefficiency in public services, and others. The concept derives from the more general one of "country cost"; see the article, Ease of doing business index.

Bribery department: An English rendering sometimes used for the Brazilian slang term for a department at Odebrecht S.A.

C
Caixa dois: a slush fund. Literally, "cashbox two", this is a repository of unrecorded funds not reported to the appropriate tax authorities, and typically used as a slush fund for or operations.

Código de Processo Penal: the Penal Procedure Code of Brazil. The set of laws designed to regulate Brazil's criminal proceedings. It is under the exclusive jurisdiction of the, through the to legislate on criminal procedure. Usually abbreviated in Portuguese.

Colaboração premiada: Literally: ""; a type of plea bargain; it is the common name for the legal term. Established in the in 2014. See the Usage note at.

Concussão: the act of demanding improper advantage ( for oneself or others, directly or indirectly, by someone in public office, either during their term or before or afterward if related to their function while in office. Article 316. One of several crimes that are considered a "".

Condução coercitiva: A compulsory order to appear, to assist in an investigative or judicial proceeding, either as a victim, a witness, an expert, and so on. Not an arrest, but has the power of enforcement behind it, based on. Has some features in common with a "material witness" in U.S. law. Compare ' (1. "arrest") and '. Translation note: Machine translation will often emit the expression coercive driving as part of the translation into English; this is *never* a correct translation for this phrase. There is no accepted expression in English that conveys the sense of the Portuguese term.

Constituição do Brasil: The current constitution is the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 (officially: Constituição da República Federativa do Brasil de 1988). Also known as the Constituição cidadã ("Citizen's Constitution") because of its birth in the process of the return to Democracy after the end of the period of military dictatorship in Brazil (1964–1985).

Constitution: See.

Corrupção ativa: literally, "active corruption". Corrupção ativa consists in the act of offering any kind of benefit or advantage (economic, or otherwise) to a public official, to cause them to perform an official act, or to prevent or delay them from performing such an act. The crime consists in the intent to offer the unfair advantage, regardless whether it actually occurs. It is governed by article 333 of the, and is considered a '. See also '.

Corrupção passiva: literally, "passive corruption". A crime committed by a public official, which consists in soliciting or receiving, for themselves or on behalf of someone else, an undue benefit (see )), or a promise of such benefit. The term "passive" doesn't refer to initiation of a corrupt action, but who receives the benefit. For example, if a driver offers a cop money in order to avoid a ticket, and the cop accepts, the cop has committed passive corruption (and the driver has simultaneously committed ). If the cop suggests the bribe, it's still passive. (See Art. 317.) Considered a "".

CPP: Abbr. for.

Crime against public administration: See.

Crime contra a administração pública: Literally, a "crime against public administration". A group of crimes in the (CPP; Penal Code) that are characterized by their distortion of public administration and which injuriously affect the legality, impartiality, morality, or efficiency of public administration..

D
Delação premiada: literally, "rewarded whistleblowing" (or, "rewarded informing"). The most common gloss for this in English is "plea bargain [agreement]". (also seen, much less frequently (about 10%), is, but see '). A legal process by which a suspect is offered a specific reduced sentence prescribed by the law, in return for turning in accomplices, or aiding in investigations. Applies only to individuals. The common name for this is '. The concept is similar to a plea bargain agreement, which results in a reduced penalty (fine, prison time) in return for investigative assistance. Established in the of 2014. Contrast:, which applies only to juridical persons. Usage note: There is some fuzziness even in the Brazilian press concerning the use of delação premiada (which applies exclusively to people) and (which applies to business entities, not people) and occasionally the wrong term is used. The confusion in the English language press is greater, partly because the legal concepts in the two countries are not identical, and "plea bargain" may be used for both terms. As a rule of thumb, if it's about reduction in monetary penalties for a company, it's a "leniency agreement"; if it's about a reduction in fines or prison time for an individual, that's more like a "plea deal" or "plea bargain".

Desdobramento: Literally, an "unfolding". In the context of Operation Car Wash, as in pt:Desdobramentos da Operação Lava Jato, it is an offshoot. (Also seen, less often, are spin-off or outgrowth to represent desdobramentos in English sources about Operation Car Wash). In the context of talking about one particular, already named, it can be translated simply as Operation. Not to be confused with Operation Car Wash "phases" (fases) which is a different breakdown of investigations, numbered and named, starting with phase 1 in March 2014.

Desembargador: apellate judge; Title given to justices in the courts of. Compare '. See Usage note at '.

Dólar-cabo: an illegal dollar wire transfer. A neologism in Portuguese; no stable English term has claimed primacy yet; several have been offered. It is the practice of trading dollars in the for deposit in an institution abroad. This may or may not involve actual cross-border transfers of money. The practice is a crime under article 22 of Lei dos Crimes contra o Sistema Financeiro (Law concerning crimes against the Financial System). It is often used in schemes. Still a neologism in the Brazilian press, and often found inside double quotes, often with explanatory text following. In English, various calques and translations have been proposed, including "dollar-cable", "cable-dollar", and others, but usually very tentatively, and with double quotes. See also.

Doleiro: a money dealer; black-market money dealer; literally, "dollar-er" ("dollar-dealer"). Someone who buys and sells dollars on the. They also between countries on behalf of companies or individuals not authorized by the Central Bank of Brazil to perform exchange operations, or which are outside the official mechanisms of registration and control. While this may be legal in some contexts, in others it is an indicator of possible or  activities. In this context, a doleiro is someone who converts currencies without authorization, or beyond limits allowed by law. See also:. Expressions:
 * doleiro dos doleiros – dealer of dealers

F
Falsidade ideológica: fraudulent misrepresentation. lit., "ideologically false"; often seen adjectivally as ideológicamente falso ("ideologically false"). This is a type of fraud involving inclusion of false information in an otherwise valid document. This is defined in article 299 of the Penal code. Example: a doctor signs a certificate excusing someone from work who was not sick. The signature is real, the information in the document is false. Contrast:.

Falsidade material: lit., "materially false"; this is a type of fraud involving creation of a phony document. Also seen adjectivally as materialmente falso ("materially false"). This is defined in article 299 of the. Example: an employee creates a false affidavit excusing them or someone from work who was not sick, and forges the doctor's signature. Contrast:. The key difference between the two, is that where falsidade material describes a forgery, falsidade ideológica describes a real document with false information.

Federal judge: see.

Federal Regional Court: see (TRF).

First instance: A lower court. Contrast.

Foro privilegiado: Official name: "foro especial por prerrogativa de função". Foro privilegiado is the common term for this. Context: "pessoas com foro privilegiado", as in this example from Operação Leviatã (Operation Leviathan):

It is a method of determining a jurisdictional question, namely what venue has jurisdiction over certain high public officials in certain penal actions, based on their position or function. Normally, most people in Brazil, if accused of certain crimes, start off in lower courts (') and their cases may proceed to higher courts (') according to law. For a limited subset of people, namely those with the foro privilegiado status, they start right off in the higher courts. The specifies which officials have foro privilegiado; the list includes the President of the Republic, Senators, Federal Deputies, State Deputies, ministers of State, Governors; and only while they still hold office. See pt:foro especial por prerrogativa de função for details.

Formação de quadrilha: gang formation; conspiracy; criminal conspiracy Expressions: acusados de formação de quadrilha – "accused of federal racketeering" (chiefly U.S. usage)

Funcional: An adjective for, a company employee or civil servant funcionário When combined with apartmento, has a special meaning; see In common parlance, cognate to English "functional".

J
Judge: Can be any of ', ', or ', depending on the type of judge, and the '.

Judiciary branch: See

Juiz:

A judge of the. Expressions: Usage note: it's a peculiarity of Brazilian terminology surrounding judgeships, that judges in courts of different degrees or levels (grau de jurisdição) are known by different honorific titles, depending on what level they are in the hierarchy of the. The term juiz is used for judges of the. See also: ' (2nd instance), and ' (3rd instance). court. referee.
 * pt:juiz de paz: justice of the peace.
 * juiz de instrução: investigative judge; examining magistrate.

Juiz federal: A judge of the in the common Federal Justice system (' comum) who deals with legal cases involving the Union (') or its federal entities.

Justiça Federal: The Federal Courts, or Federal Justice system, is one of two parts of the. It consists of the federal judgeships, which represent the first instance ('), and the (TRF), which represent the second instance (').

P
Poder executivo: The executive branch of government; one of the three branches (ramos) of the Brazilian government.

Poder judiciário: lit. "Judicial power" (or "authority"); the judicial branch. One of the three branches of the, according to the. The judiciary branch is based on three degrees of jurisdiction (grau de jurisdição). It is made up of five things: 1. the (STF), 2. ' (STJ), 3. (TRF) and, 4. military judges and tribunals, and 5. tribunals and judges of the states, the, and the territories. See '.

Poder legislativo: legislative branch (lit. "legislative power"; legislative authority). One of the three branches of the ordained in article 1 of the, consisting of the National Congress, is exercised by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Each state of the Union is represented by three Senators of the Republic, elected by majority vote, and the seats in the Chamber of Deputies are divided according to the population of each state, and the deputies elected by proportional vote.

Poder público: The ensemble of state institutions with authority to carry out the affairs of State; the three branches of the : ', ',. In the plural, "poderes públicos" may have a different meaning: public authorities, official authority; similar to the non-specific sense of "the authorities" in English.

Policia especializada: See.

Primeira instância: The first, or lowest level of the three degrees of jurisdiction (grau de jurisdição) in the (judiciary branch). These include Federal judge#Brazil (Juiz federal). See.

Prisão domiciliar: House arrest.

Prisão em flagrante: see.

Preventive detention: See. Compare.

Prisão:

Arrest. In the sense of "arrest", it comes in three forms (modalidades) in Brazil: ', ', and '. Contrast: '. Jail. Imprisonment.

Prisão preventiva: Roughly, "preventive detention", but not exact equivalents. Prisão preventiva is a pre-trial, precautionary detention defined by ' §311–316. Not to be confused with ' (post-trial sentencing). The English preventive detention is broader in scope; the Portuguese one may be more like pre-trial.

Prisão temporária: A type of precautionary detention, which may be used in the investigation of a serious crime. A "temporary pre-trial detention". A 1989 law replaced the former prisão por averiguação (investigatory detention) which was found to be contrary to fundamental rights under the 1988 charter. Only used in certain high crimes where it might impede the investigation if the subject were not detained, and where they have no fixed address or their identity cannot be established.

R
Recurso:

An appeal to a court. An instrument to request alteration of a prior court decision to a court of the same or higher, on the same case. Expressions: (in the plural) recursos: funds.Expressions: In contexts outside of law or finance: the primary meanings of recurso are "resource", "feature".
 * entrar com um recurso: file an appeal
 * _____ de recurso: appellate _____
 * desvio de recursos – diversion of funds

Rewarded collaboration: {{defn |{{ghat|{{crossreference |selfref=no |see {{gli|colaboração premiada}}}}}} literal translation of {{gli|colaboração premiada}}}.}}

Rewarded whistleblowing: literal translation of.

S
Segunda instância: The middle level of the three degrees of jurisdiction (') in the ' (judiciary branch). A court of second instance is analogous to a Court of appeals or appellate court in Anglo-Saxon jurisprudence. See.

Setor propina: literally, "bribery section", or "bribery department". This is a slang term or nickname for Odebrecht S.A.'s Structured Operations Division (Setor de Operações Estruturais), because it was that department within the company that was responsible for managing and paying kickbacks and bribes. Usage note: There isn't sufficient usage in English sources to have settled on one term for this, but "bribery department" is present in a BBC report.

Sítio de Atibaia: lit., "the Atibaia site". known in English as the "Atibaia case" or "Atibaia site", and other terms. In context after a first use, the property is also referred to as the "ranch", the "house", the "farmhouse", the "case", the "site case", etc.; and in Portuguese, sometimes as the "sítio Santa Bárbara". "O sítio de Atibaia" is the name given by the press to a property in Atibaia, a town in the interior of São Paulo state, which was central to the second conviction of President Lula in, which increased his sentence from 13 to 17 years. The formal owner of the property was Fernando Bittar, ex-colleague of Fabio Luis Lula da Silva (Lulinha), son of Lula. It was seized by the judge as part of Lula's sentence.

STF: abbreviation for.

STJ: abbreviation for.

Superfaturamento: Overbilling, especially on a government project with corrupt intent. The Federal Police indicated in a 2010 report that around R$700 million ($ million) was overbilled in 300 public works projects, and that of every 100 Reals spent, on average R$ 29 were overbilled.

Superior Tribunal de Justiça: Superior Court of Justice, also known as the. The highest appellate court in Brazil for non-constitutional questions of federal law. Justices in STJ (as in other ) are called "" not "justices" or ""; not to be confused however, with ministers from the executive branch.

Supremo Tribunal Federal: The Supreme Federal Court is the highest Court in Brazil, and is considered a court of. Abbreviated in Portuguese.

T
undefined: An abbreviation for.

undefined: An abbreviation for pt:Tribunal de Contas do Estado do Rio de Janeiro.

undefined: An abbreviation for.

Terceira instância: Literally, "third instance" (see '). There is no third instance of the defined in the. However, the are sometimes known informally as the "third instance", because decisions taken by tribunals of the  and  can be reviewed by. See also '.

Tribunal Regional Federal: Regional Federal Courts. There are six regional federal courts, each covering several Brazilian states. They are established by articles 107 and 108 of the. Together with, the six TRFs make up the ' (Federal Courts), which is part of the ' (judiciary branch). Each TRF has seven (or more) judges of the named by the, who hold court around the region of their jurisdiction, using local facilities. See for example,. abbreviation: TRF.

Tribunal Regional Federal da 4ª Região: Federal Regional Court of Region 4 (abbr: TRF-4, TRF 4) is one of the five Federal District Courts ('). It is a court of second instance (') that has jurisdiction over the three states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul, and is headquartered in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. It was inaugurated in 1989, and has 27 judges.

U
Undue advantage: Illicit funds. Literally, "undue advantage" is a literal translation of vantagem indevida, from a type of corruption called ': literally, "Receipt of undue advantage" (or "illicit", "improper", "unfair", "unjustifiable", etc.) advantage (or "benefit", "profit", "gain", etc.) This is a form of corruption, either active (') or passive (') involving payment or receipt of improper advantage (economic or otherwise) or the promise of it, from someone in public office, or before or after their term of office if related to their function while in office. The term comes up in several places in the ', including article 217 (regarding '), article 316 ('), article 333, and others. Usage note: Since there isn't an exact equivalent in common law, and the noun phrase can be awkward in certain contexts, rewording it as an adverbial phrase might work better in some cases: "X illicitly profited from", or "...earned illegal gains from", etc.

V
Vantagem indevida: literally, "undue advantage".