In February, the Chamber of Deputies approved Bill 442/1991, which authorizes and regulates gaming in Brazil, which has generated some discussions of moral, economic and even public health biases. However, one of the aspects that stands out is the increase in money laundering operations in this sector.
It is clear that not only the legal literature, but also the very form of operation point to the possibility of gaming houses and casinos being instrumentalized to give a licit appearance to dirty money. In a common example in countries where the activity is authorized, the person with dirty money justifies the amounts he holds by claiming that such amounts came from winnings in gambling; for this, it is enough to take the illicit resources to the casino and buy chips from other players, without the need, therefore, to bet, and present them to the cashier to be exchanged for the corresponding values. In a simple operation, dirty money is given a lawful appearance.
This facility does not necessarily mean that these establishments are at all vulnerable to money laundering, constituting true havens for this illegal activity. In addition to the fact that international entities such as the Financial Action Group against Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism (GAFI/FATF) have a series of recommendations for the State to pay special attention to these sectors and money laundering, there are countries that at the same time manage to exploit gaming and maintain strict control over this exploitation in order to avoid the use of casinos for the cleaning of resources of illicit origin.
Examples of these control mechanisms are what happens, for example, in some European countries, in which there is an imposition of maintenance and updating of customer records, monitoring of intramural customer behavior and restriction of cash transactions, facilitating, thus, control and registration.
Everything goes through a commitment and preparation of the State in the inspection and in the investment of resources for the control of the operations in this sector, having as a mirror successful experiences in these countries and incorporating them to the national scene, under penalty of having a sector with easy instruments for money laundering.
The approved bill, by the way, has a list of mechanisms dedicated to the prevention of money laundering in this sector, requiring, in our view, even more regulation, especially regarding the need for rules to be required from these establishments to enforcement of anti-laundering controls. This is the case, as pointed out by some researchers on the subject, of a modification in the Money Laundering Law, including establishments as subjects obliged to collaborate with the State in the prevention and repression of this crime.
It is possible for the sector to coexist with controls to prevent and repress money laundering, which is only feasible with investment and commitment from Brazil.
Carlos Augusto Ribeiro
Criminal lawyer. Counselor of the OAB/SC (2022-2024). He was President of the Prerogatives and Defense of Honorary Commission of the OAB / SC. He is a member of the Study Commission on Proposed Legislative Changes in the Anti-Crime Package. Lecturer in several legal courses. Specialist in Criminal Sciences from CESUSC College. Studying LLM in Economic Criminal Law at the Institute of Public Law (IDP), in the Federal District.
Source: Gazeta do Povo
