RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro advocated linking the Financial Activities Control Council (COAF) to the Central Bank, to prevent the body from suffering political pressure. The statement was made on August 9th, in the morning when the president was leaving the Palácio do Alvorada.
The administrative reform of President Bolsonaro’s government foresaw the transfer of the COAF to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. The measure, however, was rejected by Congress, which kept the body subordinate to the Ministry of Economy.
“What we want is to get the COAF out of the political game and link it to the Central Bank. Should it be passed on to the Central Bank, the COAF will do its job without suspicion of political favoritism. If it is up to the Central Bank, it is Roberto Campos Neto [Central Bank President] who will decide. He intends to have an effective COAF framework that would change its name. The less politics interfere with the fate of the country, the better,” Bolsonaro said.
The agency was responsible for uncovering atypical financial transactions that resulted in inquiries into Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the president’s son, suspended in July by the president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Justice Dias Toffoli, at the request of Flávio’s counsel.
Asked whether Roberto Leonel would remain as head of COAF, Bolsonaro said that the decision would fall to Roberto Campos Neto. A report by Folha de S.Paulo showed that the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, has been pressured to dismiss Leonel.
The president was said to be troubled by his behavior following the decision by STF Presiding Justice Dias Toffoli to suspend criminal investigations throughout the country using financial intelligence data without court oversight.