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How to investigate corruption

May 15, 2023

With regard to investigations of corruption in Brazil, the police authority, the Brazilian Office of the Comptroller General (CGU), the Prosecution Office and even the Internal Affairs of various public entities are invariably involved.

The police authority, as the other agencies mentioned above, obviously has several investigative and interrogation techniques. However, the question arises as to what are the best practices to be followed when conducting an investigation into a potential case of corruption. The fact of the matter is that corruption is a consensual crime, which usually occurs without witnesses, is rarely documented and, therefore, it is not always easy to unravel.

On the other hand, the increasing use of technology ended up migrating the investigator's attention, which now has a much greater focus on the logical, digital environment over the physical, on-site environment. Therefore, e-mails and text messages are always under any investigator's main radar.

The Conference of International Investigators held in 2003 and endorsed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), established ten guidelines considered essential for any investigative activity, especially the ones with the purpose of investigating bribery or corruption. They are:

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1. Investigative activity should include the collection and analysis of documents and other material; the review of assets and premises of the organization; interviews of witnesses; observations of the investigators; and the opportunity for the subjects to respond to the complaints.

2. Investigative activity and critical decisions should be documented regularly with the managers of the investigating officer.

3. Investigative activity should require the examination of all evidence, both inculpatory and exculpatory.

4. Evidence, including corroborative testimonial, and forensic and documentary evidence, should be subject to validation. To the extent possible, interviews should be conducted by two investigators.

5. Documentary evidence should be identified and filed, with the designation of origin of the document, location and date, and name of the filing investigator.

6. Evidence likely to be used for judicial or administrative hearings should be secured and custody maintained.

7. Investigative activities by the investigator should not be inconsistent with the rules and regulations of the organization, and with due consideration of the applicable laws of the State where such activities occur.

8. The investigator may utilize informants and other sources of information and may assume responsibility for reasonable expenses incurred by such informants or sources.

9. Interviews should be conducted in the language of the person being interviewed, using independent interpreters, unless otherwise agreed.

10. The investigator may seek advice on the legal, cultural and ethical norms in connection with an investigation.

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The guidelines above are very clear and, if followed through, will indeed make the investigation very reliable and efficient, in addition to ensuring the reliability of gathered evidence.

There is no way to fight corruption without a synergy of efforts between police authorities, the Prosecution Office, the Brazilian Office of the Comptroller General, and Internal Affairs, along with the judiciary branch.

In reference to the first lessons of Brazilian administrative law, students learn that the elements of the administrative act are: (i) cause, (ii) object, (iii) form, (iv) jurisdiction, and (v) purpose. Without engaging in political discourse, the country has recently witnessed the deconstruction of one of the largest joint actions against corruption in Brazil, due to the allegation of lack of jurisdiction on the part of the authorities investigating illicit acts of bribery or corruption. The controversy over jurisdiction, in this case, remains subjective and subject to the interpretation of the authority that is judging the case as long as there are no clear rules, either in the form of a procedural code or in the form of regulations.

Another issue that deserves thorough discussion is the appropriate time for arguing jurisdiction. There are already provisions in Brazilian law such as preclusion. Therefore, one wonders why not establish a time for arguing jurisdiction, so as to end this discussion.

Those working against bribery and corruption know their greatest enemy: impunity. In addition, compliance program operators also know an important maxim: be efficient and demonstrate it! Therefore, impunity or the perception of impunity can be compared to the oxygen needed to fuel a fire.

On the other hand, the best ally of those who fight corruption are whistleblowers. By transforming into law the anti-crime package created by former Justice Sérgio Moro, Brazilian law has incorporated protection and rewards for whistleblowers who bring an act of corruption to the attention of the authorities. However, society is unaware of it, the different instances of government ignore it, and this provision thus becomes yet another unknown norm. This is regrettable, as the Government does not have sufficient human or financial resources to identify acts of corruption, while whistleblowers are usually inside the institution, whether public or private, where the act is taking place.

Analyzing another good practice introduced by the United Nations, one must refer to the Handbook on Practical Anti-Corruption Measures for Prosecutors and Investigators, which promotes the identification of four fundamental ways to deal with corruption:

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1. By criminal or administrative prosecutions, leading to possible imprisonment, fines, restitution orders or other punishment;

2. By disciplinary actions of an administrative nature, leading to possible employment-related measures such as dismissal or demotion;

3. By bringing or encouraging civil proceedings in which those directly affected (or the State) seek to recover the proceeds of corruption or ask for civil damages; and,

4. Through remedial actions, such as the retraining of individuals or restructuring of operations in ways that reduce or eliminate opportunities for corruption (but without necessarily seeking to discipline those involved).

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Although this article is focused on external investigations carried out by different authorities, which end up having to act in synergy to achieve efficiency in the fight against corruption, one should not underestimate the capacity of some organizations in the private sector, and even in the public sector, to undertake efficient internal investigations with the purpose of identifying attempted or consummated acts of bribery or corruption.

Finally, this article must reference an anthological text from The Guardian, signed by Rachel Banning Lover, on smart ways to use technology in favor of fighting corruption, with spectacular examples:

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                   ACTION                

           		               

                   EXAMPLES                

           
               

                   1.    Remember deterring corruption is the best solution                

           		               

                   A    few years ago I advised the people behind the                                            Trade Route Incident Mapping    System                                        (TRIMS)    in Nigeria – a crowdsourced whistle blowing                    system which allowed truckers and    small traders stuck at                    border check points (some real, some artificial, set    up                    to harass and extort bribes) to report corrupt officials                    using a mobile    phone. There may have been no direct link                    to officials being punished, but    there were stories of a                    deterrent effect: some truckers mentioned TRIMS and    they                    were let go without being harassed for bribes. (Hari                    Mulukutla, managing director,Stream House                                            , New York,    United States)                                    

           
               

                   2.    Use technological tools to develop institutional trust                

           		               

                   My    observations in an east African country recently were                    that despite decent    anti-corruption institutions, an                    active civil society and a relatively free    press,                    corruption seemed to be ingrained. Leadership in government,                    media and    NGOs seemed cynical. One of my recommendations                    was to use secure case    management systems with audit                    trails and secure workspaces so investigators    can trust                    these tools and that their work won’t be undermined or                    leaked. ( Hari Mulukutla)                

           
               

                   3. Automate tax collection                

           		               

                   Automation    is playing an important contribution to                    reducing discretionary practices in    tax collection.                    Taxpayers hoping to pay less and tax administrators hoping                    to    earn more can easily lead to bribery and corruption in                    the tax office. In    Afghanistan, we implemented an                    automated tax administration system that moved    taxpayer                    information from being hidden in a desk drawer to being                    recorded    electronically and only accessed by the people                    who need it. This helped    reduce opportunities for                    corruption, built public trust in the tax system,    and                    increased revenue collection from $250m to almost $2bn since                    2004. (Iker Lekuona, senior manager,Adam Smith International,                    Kampala, Uganda@AdamSmithInt )                

           
               

                   4. Sharing information across borders                

           		               

                   Corruption    doesn’t stop at national borders. Sharing                    information internationally on aid,    public contracts, or                    company ownership, for example through a public registry                    of beneficial owners, can be really powerful to compare,                    identify, and    prosecute. Agreeing an open data standard                    also reduces discussions on which    information should be                    public and this being different in different countries.                    In Ukraine, implementing the standard has led to 14% in                    savings. (Georg Neumann, senior manager,Open Contracting Partnership,                    Washington DC, USA@georg_neu@opencontracting                    )                

           
               

                   5. Digitise public services                

           		               

                   Due    to the fact that there is a 40% unemployment rate in                    Kosovo, recruitment is    very often prone to bribes. One                    way we are helping local governments to    prevent corrupt                    practices by public service personnel is to put their entire                    recruitment process online. We’ve also used social                    innovation challenges and    hackathons to build tools that                    show budget expenditures in real time. (Shqipe Neziri                    Vela, manager of the Anti-corruption Programme atUNDPKosovo, Prishtina,                    Kosovo@                    Albanian_Neziri@UNDP_Kosovo                    )                

           
               

                   6.    Take inspiration from other initiatives around the                    world                

           		               

                   From    a UK point of view, I think the                                            OCCRP                                        ,                                            OpenCorporates                                        and                                            mySociety                                        really stand out as    organisations who’ve used technology                    to prevent, detect and deter corruption.    OpenCorporates,                    for example, pulled together a global register of companies,                    and partnered with Global Witness to do some great research                    into corruption    in the jade trade in Myanmar. (Steve                    Goodrich, senior researcher,Transparency International UK,                    London, UK                                            @SteveJGoodrich                                                                @TransparencyUK                                        )                

           
               

                   7.    Pay attention to local contexts                

           		               

                   Replicability    is a tricky issue. I think mySociety and                                            Fundación Ciudadano Inteligente                                        have done a great job at    creating tools that are easily                    adjustable to local contexts because they are    very                    specific. The risk is sometimes with tools like                                            Ushahidi                                        that provide a great technology,    but when implemented                    locally, people’s motivation for why they would or                    wouldn’t use the service is overlooked. (                                            Georg Neumann)                                    

           
                                                                           
               

                   8.    Be aware using technology to fight corruption is not                    risk free                

           		               

                   In    countries where the state tightly controls the                    internet and other    communication networks, it is possible                    that some governments could try to    block or censor                    anti-corruption campaigns, particularly as many corrupt acts                    are often committed by state actors.(Kwami Ahiabenu II,                    executive    director, Penplusbytes, Accra, Ghana                                            @kwamigh                                                                @penplusbytes                                        )                

           
               

                   9.    And remember technology doesn’t always democratise                    access                

           		               

                   In    India, in order to access subsidised fertilisers and                    seeds farmers have to    submit their land registration                    certificates which they have to obtain from    the land                    registration department, providing ample opportunities for                    corrupt    officers. The government of Karnataka initiated a                    project called ‘Bhoomi’    where technology was used to load                    all details about land ownership and copies    of these                    documents could be obtained through an IT booth. However,                    lack of    literacy meant that middlemen were still able to                    use the vulnerabilities of    the service seeker to demand                    money. (Professor Indira Carr, research    professor of                    law,University of Surrey                                            , Guildford, UK)                                    

           

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