It has been approved.Law 15.517/26... that criminalizes and increases the penalties for the crimes of theft and robbery of oil, fuels, and derivatives in Brazil. In the case of theft, the penalty will be ofImprisonmentfrom 4 to 10 years, the same for cases in which explosives are used in any other type of theft.
According to Deputy Juninho do Pneu (PSDB-RJ), author ofPL 1482/19, which gave rise to the law, the objective is to contain the escalation of clandestine drilling and the advance of criminal gangs on the fuel distribution market.
According to the law, the penalty will be increased by 1/3 if the crime is committed by two or more people, with abuse of trust, taking advantage of a current or past (former employee, for example) relationship with the victim company, or if the offender is a public official.
The increase will also apply if the extraction of the product depends on the destruction or obstruction of access to the fuel.
The increase in sentence will be 2/3 when there is a suspension or cessation of the establishment's activities, fire, effective or potential environmental pollution, and fuel shortage as a consequence of the crime.
Theft
Regarding theft, whose standard penalty is 4 to 10 years and a fine, the project provides for an increase of 1/3 to 1/2 for the theft of fuel. The 2/3 increase applies to the same cases mentioned in theft.
In both crimes (theft and robbery), the definition includes the theft of oil and derivatives, natural gas and its recoverable fractions, hydrated ethyl alcohol fuel, and other liquid fuels,biofuels,and lubricating oils.
The theft can be from production facilities or any fuel storage and transportation facility, including pipelines and transport units in any mode.
Economic order
Two new crimes against the economic order are included inLaw 8.176/91targeting those who receive these products when they know or suspect they are the product of a crime.
Thus, anyone who receives, transports, stores, or sells these fuels is subject to imprisonment of 3 to 8 years and a fine. For legal purposes, any form of irregular or clandestine trade, including that carried out in a residence, will be considered a commercial activity.
The crime is punishable even if the perpetrator of the robbery or theft is unknown or exempt from punishment.
Public office
As regards the employee or public servant, the project provides that the effect of the conviction is the loss of the position, function or public employment, with disqualification from exercising it for twice the period of the sentence imposed.
The sale of the seized property may also be authorized in advance to preserve its value whenever it is subject to any degree of deterioration or depreciation or when there is difficulty in maintaining it.
Risks of contamination
The rapporteur of the project in the Chamber, Deputy Ricardo Abrão (PSDB-RJ), stated that the practice carries risks such as environmental contamination, contamination of water bodies, water supply shortages in urban centers, interruption of fuel supply and even deaths. "Illicit practices in this area are capable of distorting the market and creating serious risks to public safety," he said.
According to Abraham, the theft of fuel is an extremely dangerous operation due to the high pressures involved and the chemical properties of the products (flammable, toxic, and explosive). "These thefts are carried out in an amateurish manner, which increases the risk potential of the action, exposing nearby communities to the possibility of explosions and death, the environment to the impacts resulting from leaks, and the consuming public to shortages," he stated.
Veto
The acting president, Geraldo Alckmin, vetoed the section that provided for a 2/3 increase in sentence in cases of bodily harm or death. Alckmin argued that the provision could create a criminal rule that is less appropriate than the existing one in the Penal Code for cases of robbery that result in death.