TCU’s Public Prosecutor’s Office wants to know the names of the owners of Brazilian betting companies
The Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Federal Court of Accounts (MPTCU) has requested that the TCU transparently discloses the authorisation processes for Brazilian betting companies.
Deputy Prosecutor Lucas Rocha Furtado questioned the partial secrecy of data from the licensing processes.
Last week, the Minister of Finance, Dario Durigan, announced that he would release information from the processes, redacting the names of the betting company partners. According to Durigan, the measure aims to comply with data protection legislation, with sensitive information concealed.
According to the deputy attorney general, such concealment finds no support in the Constitution or the Access to Information Law (LAI). He argues that this measure violates the principles of transparency and morality, “especially in a sector of high risk and economic importance that demands reinforced social and institutional control”.
In his representation, Furtado states that there is no valid legal basis in the rules governing public transparency that would authorise the imposition of secrecy on the identification of partners and ultimate beneficiaries of companies. According to him, the corporate structure and the identity of ultimate beneficiaries are essential conditions for adequate oversight by regulatory bodies.
MPTCU wants the names of the owners of betting sites
Lucas Furtado emphasises that the Constitution does not contemplate generalised secrecy in favor of the private interests of regulated companies. “Secrecy is the exception and must be interpreted restrictively, always with an express legal basis and in a duly justified manner,” he argues.
The deputy attorney general warns that the LAI (Law on Access to Information) provides for the accountability of public officials who impose secrecy on information that cannot be restricted from access, as well as those who refuse to provide requested information without legal basis.
Furtado requests that the TCU orders the Treasury to ensure full transparency, prohibiting generalised secrecy and the redaction of names. He also requests an audit of the Secretariat of Prizes and Bets (SPA). The objective is to identify acts, ordinances or guidelines that have instituted the disclosure of licensing processes with redactions.
As a precautionary measure, he requests that the Treasury and SPA be ordered to refrain from redacting names.