Antenor Madruga

Madruga BTW Advogados

Brasilia DF www.madruga.com

antenor.madruga@madruga.com Tel: 55 61 3966 4850

Biography

Antenor Madruga is recognised as a leading Brazilian lawyer in complex litigations and negotiations involving government criminal and administrative proceedings, particularly in multijurisdictional cases. A former federal attorney, he has served as National Secretary of Justice, Director of Assets Recovery and International Legal Cooperation of the Ministry of Justice, member of the Financial Intelligence Unit (COAF), among other positions. His firm, Madruga BTW, represents major Brazilian and foreign companies, financial institutions and individuals.

My career was built in the public and private sectors. It also has a strong scholar background through my activities as a researcher and professor. After graduating in law, I pursued a PhD in international law from the University of São Paulo, with visiting research experiences in the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law – UNIDROIT, and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law. In 1996, I was appointed federal attorney and in 1998, I was put in charge of the management of all cases of the Brazilian government before foreign courts. At the time, I also worked in international money laundering and corruption cases, an experience that I have carried throughout my career. In 2003, I became the first director of the Department of Assets Recovery and International Legal Cooperation of the Ministry of Justice, and coordinator of the National Strategy Against Money Laundering. Later, I also acted as National Secretary of Justice, prior to leaving the government.

In 2007, I returned to private practice, joining BMA - Barbosa, Müssnich, Aragão and becoming head of its corporate ethics and white-collar crime practice group. In 2013, I founded my own firm, now named Madruga BTW with other highly skilled partners and associates.

How have your memberships across multiple organisations enhanced your practice?

I believe that the ability to find solutions to intricate problems depends substantially on the aggregation of our educational, professional and life experiences. Furthermore, our practices depend very much on knowing different people in multiple jurisdictions. Memberships across multiple organisations provide important opportunities for such experiences and to make acquaintance with people that may be essential to our practice.

How are business crimes becoming more sophisticated and what hurdles in recovering assets are now more prevalent?

Business crimes needed to become more sophisticated in order to evade the evolution of anti-money laundering protections and of international legal cooperation between law enforcement authorities. New technologies, such as crypto currencies, have also made it more difficult to trace and recover assets.

Has the coronavirus pandemic caused an uptick in white-collar crimes? What are the main challenges for enforcement agencies in your jurisdiction?

The pandemic forced a substantial increase in government spending and the need for urgent procurement of goods and services, demanding relaxion or postponement of controls. Government authorities are now investigating such spending and allegations of wrongdoings in government contracts related to the pandemic. There is a clear increase in such investigations and enforcement activities. Perhaps the main challenge for law enforcement agencies in such a scenario is to separate what was a necessary flexibilisation of procurement rules, impossible to implement given the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic, from illegal and criminal activities.

How does Madruga BTW Advogados distinguish itself from competitors in the market?

We have a profound knowledge of how governments work. Most of our partners, consultants and associates held important government positions in their careers. We understand how companies think. We also have a team of lawyers with knowledge and experience in different jurisdictions, allowing us to comprehend how different jurisdictions function and interact. Integrity, discretion, and dedication are core principles of our firm. Furthermore, for the past 30 years, our team has worked in all major cases in Brazil.

Some practitioners have cited systemic procedures as an

obstacle in combatting business crime. To what extent does this statement apply to your jurisdiction and has the coronavirus pandemic pushed for procedural reforms or changes?

Systemic procedures are indeed an obstacle in combatting business crime in every jurisdiction and particularly in Brazil. However, a proper balance between the law enforcement needs and criminal defense rights must be achieved. The coronavirus pandemic certainly pushed to expedite procedural reforms or changes, especially in the use of technologies, such as videoconferencing, in investigative and trial proceedings.

How would you like to develop your practice in the next five years?

Madruga BTW is increasingly providing a wide range of services to clients that do business with government entities. We want to use this experience to assist our clients to conduct clean business with governments, free of illegal and reputational threats and of unfair competition. We will also expand our anti-money laundering practice group substantially to assist clients in need of counsel in that field.

We currently have a strong white-collar crime practice. We also act in regulatory matters in issues such as money-laundering. In the coming years we expect to further expand to other government related areas.

What advice would you give to younger practitioners hoping to one day be in your position?

First of all, have in mind that there is no right way to do the wrong thing. A rigorously ethical posture must be the core of any professional achievement. Invest heavily in education and collect life and professional experiences. Finally, understand the importance of viewing the legal profession from a multi-jurisdictional perspective.

Peers and clients say: “He is very intelligent and has a deep knowledge of compliance, AML and criminal law” “Antenor always seeks to better understand the nature of his clients’ businesses” “He is the gold standard”