A private investigator brazil is a person hired to investigate crimes and other allegations of wrongdoings by individuals, corporations or institutions. The investigation is often confidential, although there are many exceptions to this rule. The private investigator may also conduct surveillance of public persons, such as celebrities and politicians. In some instances, the private investigator may be required to testify in court as a witness.
Brazil is home to an army of 120,000 budding Sherlock private investigator brazil Holmeses, making it the world’s leading private detective market. According to Edilmar Lima, president of a detectives’ association with around 2,000 members, the industry has grown by more than 100% in the past decade.
This is partly down to a sense of insecurity that has prompted people to hire detectives to find out more about their neighbours, colleagues and family members. It is also due to a recent spate of corruption scandals that has put the spotlight on both government and business leaders. “There’s a growing number of politicians and businessmen asking private eyes to sweep their offices for bugs, or just to check if they are being investigated by the police,” Mr Lima says.
Another reason for the boom is the increasing use of internal investigations to uncover corporate wrongdoing. This trend has been spurred by a combination of factors, including pressure from the public for more transparency in businesses and the huge success of the Car Wash investigation that exposed bribery schemes in state-owned companies.
The development of these new investigative tools and practices has raised questions about legal professional confidentiality in Brazil. Specifically, the issue has been how to treat the privilege against self-incrimination when investigations into criminal misconduct are conducted under resolutions or cooperation agreements with law enforcement authorities.
In Brazil, it is legal for companies to monitor and collect data from the electronic devices used by employees (such as computers and phones). This information can be accessed in most cases without violating employee privacy and intimacy rights. However, if the company is investigating an individual who has not participated in the wrongdoing, it is necessary to obtain consent from that individual to disclose his or her information to law enforcement agencies.
For multinationals with operations in Brazil, the question of if and when to notify suspects of an internal investigation is important. It is a complex question that must be evaluated carefully to ensure that the process is effective and that it does not have adverse consequences on the overall effectiveness of the investigation.
The question of how to get law enforcement authorities from different jurisdictions on the same page in a multinational cooperation agreement is also highly relevant. In addition, there are questions about how to balance the competing demands of maintaining confidentiality and ensuring the integrity of an internal investigation. This is a delicate issue that should be discussed and agreed between head office and local subsidiaries with the help of specialised compliance counsel in each jurisdiction.
