STF has four votes to maintain bona fide end in gold trade

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) began judging this week the validity of the decision that suspended the law that authorizes the origin of gold sold in the country to be attested by the seller of the metal. The mechanism is called the bona fide gold seller. On April 5, Minister Gilmar Mendes responded to the preliminary injunction made by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) and suspended a section of the rule. After the decision, the case began to be judged by the virtual plenary of the Court, a modality in which the ministers enter the votes in the electronic system and there is no in-person deliberation. So far, in addition to Mendes, Justices Edson Fachin, Dias Toffoli and Cármen Lúcia are referencing the decision. Voting goes until Tuesday (2). The votes of six ministers are missing. In the vote in which he endorses his own decision, Gilmar Mendes says that the end of the bona fide seller is necessary to curb illegal mining in the country. “The evidence of environmental damage, with consequences for the health of the population, especially indigenous peoples, and of increased violence in the mining regions demonstrate the urgency in granting the requested precautionary measure”, wrote the minister. Understand The case was decided in a lawsuit filed by the Green Party in January this year. The party questioned the legality of Article 39 of Law 12,844 of 2013, a norm that defined proof of regularity in the purchase and sale of gold. The device established the presumption of legality of origin for those who sell and good faith for those who buy the metal. In this way, the legality of the origin of the gold is attested based on the information provided by the seller. With the decision of the STF, the legality of the trade must be accompanied by the distributors of Bonds and Securities (DTVMs), asset brokerages authorized by the Central Bank to carry out the gold trade.

Agência Brasil