Brazil: Cartel Investigation Suspended Until Decision On Which Ruling Should Be Applied

Keywords: Cartel, CADE, filling stations

On January 30th, the Brazilian Federal Court granted an injunction to suspend an ongoing administrative procedure of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense – "CADE"- that was investigating filling stations for forming a cartel in the market in Belo Horizonte. CADE wanted to settle the case based on the new rules, that were not in force when the facts under investigation occurred, and that oblige defendants to plead guilty in order to settle. Since these rules are more onerous on defendants, it would be unconstitutional to apply them. The appeals judge has suspended the investigation until there is a final decision on the matter.

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