Facts
The case concerns the confiscation of the proceeds from legal transactions that were obtained through bribery. The Federal Prosecutor's Office had initiated criminal proceedings against [B.] for bribery of foreign public officials and money laundering. [B.] had acted as an intermediary in contract conclusions between the Brazilian oil company Petrobras and the companies E. Inc. and G. BV, during which he had paid bribes to Petrobras directors.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office discontinued the criminal proceedings against [B.] but obliged him to pay a substitute claim of USD 9,980,000 to the state. It also imposed procedural costs on B. A. Inc., in which [B.] is involved, and [B.] filed a complaint against this order.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court states that the proceeds from a legal transaction obtained through bribery are generally subject to confiscation, regardless of whether the content of the contract was legal in itself. The decisive factor is whether the contract would have been concluded without the bribery payments.
In the case of mere influence on a discretionary decision through bribery, the entire net proceeds are not subject to confiscation. Rather, within the framework…