The First Panel of the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) overturned a preliminary injunction (provisional decision) that prevented the continuation of an investigation by the Ethics Committee of the Presidency of the Republic into alleged offshore companies in which the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, allegedly had a stake. 
The injunction had been granted by the 16th Federal Civil Court of Brasília, in 2023, in order to suspend the investigations. The request to overturn the provisional decision was made by the Attorney General’s Office (AGU).
The case came to light after the publication in 2021 of a series of reports known as the Pandora Papers, a wide-ranging investigation by an international consortium of journalists based on leaked documents from 14 international companies set up in tax havens. The scandal named several public figures in different countries, including Campos Neto and then-Minister of Economy Paulo Guedes.
In the case of the president of the Central Bank, his name was linked to the company Cor Assets, founded in April 2004 in Panama with capital of US$ 1.09 million, having received another US$ 1.08 million two months later.
The company was closed on August 12, 2020, but spent 18 months chaired by Campos Neto, since he took over the command of the Central Bank, in February 2019. The president of the BC was also the controller of the offshore Rocn Limited, in the British Virgin Islands, between January 2007 and November 2016.
At the time, Campos Neto reported that the companies were declared to the Federal Revenue Service, having been established more than 14 years ago, with income obtained in 22 years of work in the financial market. He stated that he had not sent any funds to Cor Assets after being appointed to the public office.
According to Campos Neto, all assets in his name, in the country and abroad, were declared to the Federal Revenue Service, the Central Bank and the Public Ethics Commission. He said he paid all taxes due, “with payment of all due taxes and compliance with all legal rules and ethical commands applicable to public agents.”
Opening accounts abroad and maintaining offshore accounts are not illegal, as long as they are declared to the Federal Revenue Service and other authorities. However, the Code of Conduct for Senior Federal Administration prohibits senior members from directly managing foreign investments in Brazil and abroad after assuming public functions.
Defense
In a note sent to Agência Brasil, Campos Neto’s defense said that this is “a case that has already been examined by public oversight bodies, including the Attorney General’s Office, and that they did not find any irregularities, and the investigation was even shelved.”
“The defense has demonstrated more than once that the facts found in relation to the president [do BC] were legal, ethical and consistent with the standards governing the probity of those who hold public office,” the note says.
According to lawyers Ticiano Figueiredo, Pedro Ivo Velloso and Francisco Agosti, who represent Campos Neto, everything was declared to the Federal Revenue Service and they followed market and government rules, always informing public authorities, with maximum transparency and respect for the rules.
“A third investigation into the same facts is nothing more than an encore and will only waste time and increase costs for the government, as it will reach the same conclusion as the previous ones, in relation to the legality and regularity of the facts re-reinvestigated”, says Campos Neto’s defense.
