Because the information requested involved banking documents, an application for a production order was sent to the Court for approval on 22 July 2015. The production order was approved in September, and the order was served on the bank to produce the requested documents. The documents were quite voluminous, resulting in boxes of them being provided over an extended period.
Nonetheless, all documents related to this request were transmitted to the Brazilian authorities once release by the Court had been obtained.
In November 2015 another MLAT was received from the Central Authority for additional information. The same procedure was followed, and the documents should be received from an offshore Bank during this week and will promptly be transmitted to Brazil. It is important to note that ONDCP has to await the production of the documents from the bank before they could be transmitted.
In July 2016 another MLAT request was received requesting the freezing of several accounts and the provision of several bank documents. An application for the production of banking records and the freezing of several accounts were made to the Court. The Court has approved the freezing of the accounts. However, an ancillary matter related to this request is still before the Court and ONDCP has to await the Court’s decision.
ONDCP makes it clear that it has operated in this matter entirely in conformity with its status as an independent investigative body under the law, and fully in keeping with its domestic and international responsibilities. Further, ONDCP has received commendations from the Brazilian authorities for its assistance.
Colonel Croft emphasized that “The ONDCP and other agencies, such as the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, have together successfully processed several dozen requests from many jurisdictions, including the US, the UK, Canada and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and have developed considerable expertise in fulfilling the obligations of MLAT requests for which they have been widely praised”.