Professional notice
Madruga BTW was established in February 2022 after splitting from legacy firm FeldensMadruga. It specialises in investigations and its lawyers have handled some of the highest-profile corruption cases with a link to Brazil.
The Firm
Established in February 2022 following the split of FeldensMadruga into two independent firms, Madruga BTW has a strong focus on white-collar criminal defence, litigation, internal investigations and compliance. It maintains offices in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and runs a well-integrated team that includes members with various international qualifications as well as high-level government experience.
At the forefront of the practice is Antenor Madruga who, prior to entering private practice, held key positions in government, including National Secretary of Justice and director of Assets Recovery and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Justice. He is nominated in Who’s Who Legal: Investigations and Who’s Who Legal: Business Crime Defence. At the firm, he Madruga leads the white-collar crime, government sanctions and administrative law practice. Claudia Chagas, who also had a decorated career in government that included a four-year tenure as the National Secretary of Justice, co-leads the government sanctions and administrative law practice alongside him.
Coordinating the compliance and investigations practice, meanwhile, is Ana Maria Belotto, who is a qualified to practice in New York and in the UK. She has extensive experience handling multi-jurisdictional matters.
California Bar member Mariana Tumbiolo brings high-level criminal litigation expertise to the group, as does Carlos Wehrs, who teaches criminal law at multiple institutions.
Joana Siqueira has abundant in-house legal experience on her résumé and is an expert in corporate criminal law, sanctions, corporate ethics and compliance. She was recently promoted to partner.
Rounding out the core team is Rafael Siqueira, another licensed New York lawyer. He recently worked as a foreign associate in the investigations practice of Paul Hastings.
Recent events
The ensemble’s recent high-profile work includes representing Rolls-Royce in the negotiation of a US$27.8 million settlement with Brazil’s Office of the Comptroller General and the Attorney General’s Office over allegations it bribed public officials in connection with contracts it agreed with state energy company Petrobras between 2003 and 2005. The resolution was announced in 2021, several years after the engineering company resolved similar probes with Brazil’s Federal Prosecution Service and authorities in the US and the UK.
The firm has recently conducted internal investigations for a Brazilian listed construction company, a domestic education company, an international mining company, a multinational in the maritime industry and a US-based major pharmaceutical company.
Madruga, Belotto and Tumbiolo, while at their former firm, all represented the US subsidiary of European energy trading company Vitol when it agreed in late 2020 to pay $163.8 million to settle bribery and manipulation charges brought by authorities in the US and Brazil. It was a first-of-its kind case where the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission brought an enforcement action related to foreign corruption.
Network
Madruga BTW has offices in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Clients
Among the clients the firm has represented are UBS, HP, General Electric, The Travelers Indemnity Company, Ambev and Brazilian construction conglomerates Carioca Christiani-Nielsen Engenharia and Álya Construtora.
Track record
Although the firm started in February, the lawyers have brought over clients from their former firm.
That client list includes Carioca Engenhaira. FeldensMadruga was among several firms that negotiated a non-prosecution agreement between the company and the MPF. As a result, the company could continue to obtain government contracts. The civil and criminal settlements signed with the public prosecutors and comptroller general were among the first of those reached during Operation Car Wash.
It also includes Amec Foster Wheeler, an engineering company bought by Wood Group in 2017. The company faced bribery investigations by the Brazilian, US and UK governments. GIR has reported that FeldensMadruga led the Brazilian arm of the negotiations, striking a leniency agreement with Brazilian agencies including the Federal Prosecution Service. Madruga BTW is currently assisting in the implementation of the compliance obligations arising from the settlement.
Madruga BTW is a Brazilian firm specialized in government and mutual legal assistance.
Focusing on Criminal, Administrative and Internacional Law, we develop complete strategies for our clients based on our understanding of the State and how its institutions function.
The firm´s funding partner Antenor Madruga is recognized as a leading Brazilian lawyer in complex litigations and negotiations involving government criminal and administrative proceedings, particularly in multijurisdictional cases. A former Federal Attorney, he has served as National Secretary of Justice, Director of Assets Recovery and International Legal Cooperation of the Ministry of Justice, member of the Financial Intelligence Unit (COAF) and Coordinator of the National Strategy to Combat Corruption and Money Laundering (ENCCLA), among other positions.
In 2008, he entered the private sector working in the areas of Corporate Criminal, Administrative and International Law and Corporate Ethics.
Ph.D. in International Law from the University of São Paulo (USP), Antenor is also an Independent Counselor of the Banking Self-Regulation Council of the Brazilian Federation of Banks - FEBRABAN.
Madruga BTW is composed by a team of partners, consultants and associates with a vast international experience in the public and private sectors.
Acting in different areas of criminal and administrative law, we advise large Brazilian and foreign companies, as well as their executives, in judicial and administrative proceedings and in negotiating agreements, in Brazil and abroad.
The team also provides compliance consulting on risk mitigation, with a focus on preventing corruption, fraud, money laundering and data protection.
We understand the different sanctioning spheres and, in recent years, have been involved in some of the main investigations and criminal, civil and administrative proceedings in the finance, infrastructure, oil and gas, health, insurance and technology sectors, among others.
With offices in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the firm is also distinguished by the coordination of defenses in the various instances and acting in multi-jurisdictional cases, with attorneys admitted in the New York and California bars, the UK Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the Portugal bar
Areas of expertise
Corporate criminal law
The firm works in criminal matters involving consulting and representing individuals and companies, with solutions designed to meet the demands of each client. The services include advice on criminal risks related to the company, due diligence on stressed assets, negotiation of agreements with public authorities and criminal litigation for companies including monitoring of criminal proceedings.
Administrative law
Our work in Administrative Law is aligned with our experience in corporate criminal Law, assisting our clients in their contractual and non-contractual relations with the State, on a preventive and repressive way. We are specialized in Government issues. This allows us to understand the functioning and interaction of courts and government agencies from different jurisdictions.
Corporate ethics and compliance
Our work in Corporate Ethics and Compliance is aligned with our experience in corporate and administrative criminal proceedings to assist our clients in assessing their risks and making decisions, especially in crisis situations, in a preventive manner. We work with the objective to build complete strategies, based on the understanding of the functioning of the State, acting with ethics and transparency, applying a broad concept of Compliance.
Superior Courts
Our work in the Superior Courts (essentially STJ and STF) takes place through judicial representation in cases related to various areas of law. We have experienced professionals, and we act based on a strategic analysis, to deliver solutions that are in tune with the demands of our clients, in a global way.
International
Our firm has a team with international and multi-jurisdictional background, specialized in issues of international law and comparative law. Our practice in international law and International legal cooperation is allied to other practices to deliver complete and global solutions to clients according to their demands. The services include representation and consultancy for foreign states in extradition proceedings and requests for mutual legal assistance in criminal and civil matters, as well as representation of national and foreign natural and legal persons in transactional demands before the Judiciary and other Brazilian authorities.
Website: www.madruga.com