Americanas CPI asks for coercive conduct of former director – 08/08/2023 – Market

The president of the CPI (Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry) of Americanas, deputy Gustinho Ribeiro (Republicanos-SE), requested the coercive conduct of the former director of the retailer Márcio Cruz Meirelles, after he did not attend the session this Tuesday (8).

With the absence of Meirelles, the only representative of the former leadership of Americanas in the session was the former director of Physical Stores, Logistics and Technology José Timotheo de Barros. He obtained a habeas corpus and did not respond to questions from parliamentarians.

In his opening speech, Barros authorized the sharing with the CPI of the testimonies made by the former executive to the PF (Federal Police) and the CVM (Securities and Exchange Commission) and pleaded not guilty. “I never participated in any fraud or omitted myself in the face of illicit facts,” he said.

Barros’ presence at the CPI was requested after the company’s current CEO, Leonardo Coelho Pereira, listed him as one of those responsible for the fraud of more than R$ 20 billion at Americanas.

In Pereira’s presentation, a message from Barros was shown saying that presenting too much leverage to the market would be a “sudden death”.

He was the second former executive to appear at the CPI. In the session held last Tuesday (1st), former director Fabio Abrates attended and also remained silent.

Former CEO Miguel Gutierrez, on the other hand, presented a medical certificate saying that he would not be able to leave Spain, where he is at the moment, to attend the CPI due to a kidney crisis.

Gutierrez is negotiating with the CPI the possibility of participating in the commission’s videoconference because, according to the petition presented by his legal team, he could only return to Brazil after August 25th.

Parliamentarians are yet to decide what to do about Gutierrez, but the president of the CPI is not in favor of a videoconference deposition.

In addition to Barros, the CPI session also featured economist and financial market specialist Eduardo Moreira.

According to him, Americanas’ reference shareholders, businessmen Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira, were the first to benefit from the fraud.

“If the company had much worse results [do que os demonstrados nos balanços anuais]her fate was going to be the same, the difference is that she arrived at that destination during a period in which the owners earned money that they shouldn’t have earned”, he evaluated.

In addition, he continued, there was a reputational gain for them during the period. “If we change a point in history back there that is wrong because of fraud, history changes in the future as well”, he pointed out.