The Brazilian Federal Revenue admitted this Tuesday (17) that there were deviations in access to tax data of ministers of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and their families. The demonstration took place after an operation by the Federal Police (PF) investigating the leak of confidential information from members of the Court and their relatives.
The action was authorized by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur of the case at the STF, at the request of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR). Four search and seizure warrants were executed in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. There were no arrests, but the Court ordered precautionary measures such as removal from public service, use of electronic ankle bracelets, prohibition on leaving the country and cancellation of passports.
Audit
In a statement, the IRS stated that “it does not tolerate deviations, especially those related to tax secrecy, a basic pillar of the tax system.” The body reported that, on January 12, the STF requested an audit of its systems to identify improper access to data by ministers, relatives and other authorities in the last three years.
According to the Tax Authority, the Internal Affairs Department had already initiated its own investigative procedure the previous day, based on news published in the press. The audit, which involves dozens of systems and taxpayers, is still ongoing, and deviations already identified were communicated to the case’s rapporteur at the Supreme Court.
“The Federal Revenue Service has fully traceable systems, so that any deviation is detectable, auditable and punishable, including in the criminal sphere”, informed the agency.
Investigations indicate that the tax secrecy of lawyer Viviane Barci de Moraes, wife of Alexandre de Moraes, had been improperly broken. Unauthorized access to the Income Tax declaration of the son of another minister of the Court was also identified.
The case is being processed in Inquiry 4,781, known as the fake news inquiry, reported by Moraes.
Reinforced controls
The IRS also highlighted that, since 2023, it has expanded the mechanisms for controlling access to tax data, with restriction of profiles and reinforcement of alert systems. During the period, seven disciplinary processes were concluded, which resulted in three dismissals and administrative sanctions for the others involved.
The agency stated that it will maintain the same rigor in investigating the episode and that new information may be released as the investigations progress.
*Brazil Agency
