Corporate Liability after Car Wash
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.2292Keywords:
Car Wash, corporate liability, corporate litigation, securities litigation, leniency agreementsAbstract
Operation Car Wash (OCW) followed one of the largest corruption scandals in Brazil’recent history, leaving broad effects on Brazil’s legal order. This paper highlights the rather underexplored spillovers into the law on corporate liability. OCW brought massive financial and reputational damage to major corporations, impacting all corporate stakeholder, while extensive use of leniency agreements revealed detailed accounts of unlawful schemes and the involvement of corporate agents, including controlling shareholders. Together, those elements made corporate law a tool for rebalancing OCW’s transversal implications. Through doctrinal analysis and illustrative cases, the paper traces and describes three main developments: (i) investors’ standing to sue public companies for losses tied to misconduct; (ii) growing scrutiny of controlling shareholders’ liability for corporate wrongdoing; and (iii) expanded application of the principle of protecting corporate activities. The paper argues these spillovers generated relevant doctrinal advances and may inform broader debates on corporate liability.
Downloads
Metrics
Global Statistics ℹ️
|
103
Views
|
45
Downloads
|
|
148
Total
|
|
References
Athayde, A., 2019. Manual dos Acordos de Leniência no Brasil: Teoria e Prática. Belo Horizonte: Fórum.
Barros, L.C.G.M., 2021. A responsabilidade civil das companhias abertas perante os investidores: danos individuais decorrentes de falhas na divulgação de informações. Mestrado. Universidade de São Paulo.
Binotto, A., 2024. A responsabilidade do controlador por atos ilícitos da controlada: um panorama geral. In: M.V. von Adamek and A.N. Conti, eds., Desconsideração da Personalidade Jurídica - Pressupostos – Consequências – Casuística – Volume 2. São Paulo: Quartier Latin.
Black, B.S., Carvalho, A.G., and Gorga, E., 2010. Corporate Governance in Brazil. Emerging Markets Review [online], 11(1), 21–38. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2009.09.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2009.09.004
Cantidiano, M.L., 2017. A Legislação Brasileira Permite que um Acionista seja Individualmente Indenizado pela Companhia? Capital Aberto [online], 12 March. Available at: https://capitalaberto.com.br/secoes/antitese/a-legislacao-brasileira-permite-que-um-acionista-seja-individualmente-indenizado-pela-companhia/
Carvalhosa, M.S.B., Leães, L.G.. and Wald, A., eds., 2018. A responsabilidade civil da empresa perante os investidores: contribuição à modernização e moralização do mercado de capitais. São Paulo: Quartier Latin do Brasil.
Charleaux, J.P., 2017. Qual o alcance da Lava Jato na América Latina, Europa e África? Nexo Jornal [online], 15 February. Available at: https://www.nexojornal.com.br/expresso/2017/02/15/Qual-o-alcance-da-Lava-Jato-na-Am%C3%A9rica-Latina-Europa-e-%C3%81frica
Coelho, F.U., 2018. Parecer. In: M.S.B. Carvalhosa, L.H. Leães and A. Wald, eds., A responsabilidade civil da empresa perante os investidores: contribuição à modernização e moralização do mercado de capitais. São Paulo: Quartier Latin do Brasil, 182-191.
Davis, K.E., et al., 2021. Legal and Political Responses to Systemic Corruption. Revista Direito GV [online], 17(39). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/2317-6172202129 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/2317-6172202129
Davis, K.E., et al., 2025. What Did International Anticorruption Institutions Learn From Operation Car Wash? NYU School of Law, Public Law Research Paper No. 25-03 [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5107480 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5107480
Eizirik, N., 2003. Acordo de Acionistas - Arquivamento na Sede Social - Vinculação dos Administradores da Sociedade Controlada. Revista de Direito Mercantil, Industria, Econômico e Financeiro, 129 (março).
Eizirik, N., 2022. Resenha à Obra: Responsabilidade Societária: Danos Causados pelos Administradores. Revista Brasileira de Direito Civil – RBDCivil, 31(3), 261-264.
Ferreira, M.M.C., 2022. Responsabilidade Civil pela Falha Informacional no Mercado de Valores Mobiliários: Pressupostos e Análise Crítica [online]. Doutorado. Universidade de São Paulo. Available at: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/2/2132/tde-16112022-123744/publico/8872262DIO.pdf
Frazão, A., 2016. Arquitetura da corrupção e as relações de mercado. Jota [online], 30 May. Available at: https://www.jota.info/opiniao-e-analise/artigos/arquitetura-da-corrupcao-e-relacoes-de-mercado-30052016
Frazão, A., 2021. Deveres fiduciários do controlador. In: F.U. Coelho, ed., Lei das sociedades anônimas comentada. Rio de Janeiro: Forense.
Gilson, R.J., Hansmann, H., and Pargendler, M., 2010. Regulatory Dualism as a Development Strategy: Corporate Reform in Brazil, the U.S., and the EU. SSRN Electronic Journal [online]. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1541226 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1541226
Gorga, É., 2009. Changing the Paradigm of Stock Ownership from Concentrated towards Dispersed Ownership: Evidence from Brazil and Consequences for Emerging Countries. Northwestern Journal or International Law & Business [online], 29, 439-554. Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/njilb/vol29/iss2/14
Gorga, É., 2015. The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Nonfinancial Firms: The Case of Brazilian Corporations and the ‘Double Circularity’ Problem in Transnational Securities Litigation. Theoretical Inquiries in Law [online], 16(1). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1515/til-2015-007 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/til-2015-007
Jones, A., and Neto, C.M.P., 2021. Combatting Corruption and Collusion in Public Procurement: Lessons From Operation Car Wash. University of Toronto Law Journal [online], 71(Supplement 1), 103–50. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3138/utlj-2021-0023 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/utlj-2021-0023
La Porta, R., et al., 2000. Investor Protection and Corporate Governance. Journal of Financial Economics [online], 58(1–2), 3–27. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-405X(00)00065-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-405X(00)00065-9
Lagunes, P., and Svejnar, J., eds., 2020. Corruption and the Lava Jato Scandal in Latin America [online]. London/New York: Routledge. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003024286 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003024286
Monteiro, A.L., Pereira, G.S.J., and Beneduzi, R., 2021. Arbitragem coletiva societária. São Paulo: Thomson Reuters Revista dos Tribunais.
Munhoz, E.S., 2002. Empresa contemporânea e direito societário: poder de controle e grupos de sociedades. 1st ed. São Paulo: Juarez de Oliveira.
Munhoz, E.S., 2017. Influência do Patrimonialismo na Sociedade Anônima: A Importância dos Mecanismos Privados de Efetivação dos Deveres do Acionista Controlador e dos Administradores. In: A.V. Filho, C.A.S. Lobo and L.A.C. Rosman, eds., Lei das S.A. em seus 40 anos. São Paulo: GEN, Editora Forense, 130–56.
Neder Cerezetti, S.C., 2012. A Recuperação Judicial de Sociedade por Ações: O Princípio da Preservação da Empresa na Lei de Recuperação e Falências. São Paulo: Malheiros.
Neder Cerezetti, S.C., 2021. Reorganization of Corporate Groups in Brazil: Substantive Consolidation and the Limited Liability Tale. International Insolvency Review [online], 30(2), 169–90. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/iir.1410 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/iir.1410
OECD, 2020. Private Enforcement of Shareholder Rights: A Comparison of Selected Jurisdictions and Policy Alternatives for Brazil [online]. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/private-enforcement-of-shareholder-rights_5ec8b8d7-en.html
Pargendler, M., 2020. Controlling Shareholders in the Twenty-First Century: Complicating Corporate Governance Beyond Agency Costs. Journal of Corporation Law [online], 45. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3474555 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3474555
Pargendler, M., and Davis, K.E., 2023. Corruption and Controlling Shareholders. ECGI Working Paper Series in Law [online], 698/2023. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4403487 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4403487
Phillips, D., 2019. The swashbuckling meat tycoons who nearly brought down a government. The Guardian [online], 2 July. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/02/swashbuckling-meat-tycoons-nearly-brought-down-a-government-brazil
Pimenta, R.M., 2020. A construção dos acordos de leniência da lei anticorrupção [online]. São Paulo: Blucher. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5151/9786555500288 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5151/9786555500288
Pimenta, R.M., and Greene, C., 2020. Comparing Peru and Mexico in the Lava Jato corruption scandal. In: P. Lagunes and J. Svejnar, eds., Corruption and the Lava Jato scandal in Latin America. London/New York: Routledge.
Prado, M.M., and Machado, M.R., 2021. Using Criminal Law to Fight Corruption: The Potential, Risks, and Limitations of Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato). The American Journal of Comparative Law [online], 69(4), 834–79. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcl/avac008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcl/avac008
Rodrigues, F.A. 2022. Anticorruption Institutional Improvements and Operation Car Wash. In: M.E. Trombini et al., eds., The Fight Against Systemic Corruption [online]. Springer, 41-82. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-43579-0_3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-43579-0_3
Sa e Silva, F., 2020. From Car Wash to Bolsonaro: Law and Lawyers in Brazil’s Illiberal Turn (2014–2018). Journal of Law and Society [online], 47(S1). https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12250 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12250
Salama, B.M., 2016. Douglass North and Brazil’s ‘Car Wash’ Scandal. Oxford Business Law Blog [online], 21 March. Available at: https://blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/business-law-blog/blog/2016/03/douglass-north-and-brazil%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Ccar-wash%E2%80%9D-scandal
Salomão Filho, C., 2017. Poder de controle: ética e corrupção. Em: C.E.L. Brandão, J.R.F. Filho e S.N. Muritiba, eds., Governança Corporativa e Ética Empresarial: Dilemas e Desafios [online]. São Paulo: Saint Paul, 181–88. Available at: https://www.mackenzie.br/fileadmin/ARQUIVOS/Public/pesquisa-inovacao/cemapi/Publicacao-Livro2017-EticaIntegridade.pdf
Salomão Filho, C., 2018. Controle e corrupção. Capital Aberto [online], 4 March. Available at: https://capitalaberto.com.br/temas/governanca-corporativa/controle-e-corrupcao/
Salomão Filho, C., 2019. O novo direito societário: Eficácia e Sustentabilidade. 5th ed. São Paulo: Saraiva.
Silva, R.V.M.A., 2022. A responsabilidade civil da companhia aberta perante investidores por violação do seu dever de informar: Análise à luz do funcionamento eficiente do mercado. Rio de Janeiro: Lumen Juris.
Spercel, T.A., 2021. Lei Anticorrupção e Direito Empresarial: Repressão à Corrupção em Grupos Empresariais [online]. Belo Horizonte: Dialética. Available at: https://doi.org/10.48021/978-65-5956-278-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.48021/978-65-5956-278-7
TMA Brazil, 2015. Cresce o número de pedidos de recuperação judicial Operação - Lava Jato elevou o número de casos. TMA Brazil [online], 11 October. Available at: https://www.tmabrasil.org/blog-tma-brasil/noticias-em-geral/cresce-o-numero-de-pedidos-de-recuperacao-judicial-operacao-lava
Torga, E.M.M.F., et al., 2021. The Effects of Car Wash Operation on the Brazilian Capital Market: The Petrobras Case. RAM. Revista de Administração Mackenzie [online], 22(2), eRAMF210018. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-6971/eramf210018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-6971/eramf210018
Vilhena Vieira, O., 2021. Clash of Powers: Did Operation Car Wash Trigger a Constitutional Crisis in Brazil? University of Toronto Law Journal [online], 71(supplement 1), 174–209. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3138/utlj-2021-0063 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/utlj-2021-0063
Warde, W.J., 2018. O espetáculo da corrupção: como um sistema corrupto e o modo de combatê-lo estão destruindo o país. Rio de Janeiro: LeYa.
Warde, W.J., and Valim, R., 2021. Abutres, Ingênuos e a ameaça de destruição da grande companhia. São Paulo: Contracorrente.
Warde, W.J., Bercovici, G., and Neto, J.F.S., 2015. Um plano de ação para o salvamento do projeto nacional de infraestrutura. São Paulo: Contracorrente.
Weber, A.C., 2021. Responsabilidade Societária: Danos Causados pelos Administradores. São Paulo: Quartier Latin.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Anna Binotto
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
OSLS strictly respects intellectual property rights and it is our policy that the author retains copyright, and articles are made available under a Creative Commons licence. The Creative Commons Non-Commercial Attribution No-Derivatives licence is our default licence and it regulates how others can use your work. Further details available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 If this is not acceptable to you, please contact us.
The non-exclusive permission you grant to us includes the rights to disseminate the bibliographic details of the article, including the abstract supplied by you, and to authorise others, including bibliographic databases, indexing and contents alerting services, to copy and communicate these details.
For information on how to share and store your own article at each stage of production from submission to final publication, please read our Self-Archiving and Sharing policy.
The Copyright Notice showing the author and co-authors, and the Creative Commons license will be displayed on the article, and you must agree to this as part of the submission process. Please ensure that all co-authors are properly attributed and that they understand and accept these terms.
