On February 19, Rio de Janeiro Law School (FGV DIREITO RIO) organized an event in which corporate governance and the new anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws were discussed. Experts and authorities attended the event, such as the professor of the Max Planck Institute Klaus Hopt and the chief minister of the Office of the General Comptroller (CGU), Jorge Hage, who explained how the new rules impact the companies - particularly the banking sector - and strengthen democracy by providing more transparency and respect for the law.At the opening, Rio de Janeiro Law School's director, Joaquim Falcão, stressed the importance of discussing the topic - which reinforces the conditions of equal opportunities among companies and, consequently, democracy. Then, the Minister of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), Sidnei Beneti, stressed the relevance of the new laws, which involve several areas of Law, and presented the international guest, the German Klaus Hopt.Hopt discussed the changes caused by the economic crisis of 2008 in the German banking sector. According to him, state-owned banks in the country were affected, which led the government to intervene and inject millions of Euros to prevent institutions from going bankrupt. The professor spoke about the legal, social and ethical responsibilities and the code of corporate governance, which includes all companies in the country. Hopt also examined the relationship between shareholders and creditors. The banks where corporate governance was good were the ones who had more trouble with the crisis. The explanation lies in seeking to serve the interests of the majority shareholders, interested in dividends. We have to give more powers to lenders and less to shareholders in a corporate governance model, explained Hopt.The Minister Jorge Hage, in turn, focused his presentation on Law 12.846/13 - the first focused on the corrupting agent, that is, the person who suggests that an unlawful act should be executed. For him, the adoption of the law will bring improvements in the business environment, the encouragement of competition and competitiveness, and attract international capital. CGU's understands that this law is an instrument of corporate engagement in the fight against corruption, a preventive instrument to inhibit harmful acts, much more than a punitive regime, said Hage.About the anti-money laundering law, the lawyer Pierpaolo Botini highlighted the importance of the Compliance sector in companies with the new requirement to know with whom they are making business. The president of the Council for Financial Activities Control (COAF), Antônio Gustavo Rodrigues, said the money laundering schemes are made with respected institutions and that they should take precautions to avoid this. He said COAF must be informed in cases of suspected corruption. The function of COAF is not to investigate illegal situations, but situations that are strange, suspicious, even when they occur within the law, he concluded.The seminar ?Governança Corporativa e as Novas Leis Antilavagem e Anticorrupção? (Corporate Governance and the New Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Corruption Laws) took place at FGV's main offices, in Rio de Janeiro.*Photo: Chief minister of the Office of the General Comptroller (CGU) Jorge Hage