Smith International Legal Consultants, P.A.

If one travels much in Brazil or Latin America, there is always a story of someone who was arrested by the police and then was able to win release with an offer of 20 or 30 dollars to the arresting officer. Normally, this story gets rolled into the "typical experiences" category and viewed as something necessary to get by. But just like we advise businesses to never consider a bribe, the same applies to individuals.

Late last week, the STJ (Superior Tribunal of Justice or court of last resort for all non-constitutional matters) confirmed the ruling of the appellate court for the State of Rio de Janeiro imprisoning a French national for attempting to bribe the police to get of jail. From the article, it appears the sentence was upheld even though the prosecution had not established the defendant was in police custody for a valid reason. The court found there was no concern, ruling that an attempt to bribe a public official is grounds for imprisonment, even if there are no grounds for the underlying offense.

So what is the lesson to be learned? Despite stories to the contrary, bribing a public official in Brazil still is not a good idea. Like an arrest in many other parts of the world, the best thing to do is still call your attorney.

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