According to a communiqué from Petrobras directors, appointed by the government, they violate rules imposed by the State-Owned Companies Law.| Photo: André Coelho/EFE

The Board of Directors of Petrobras rejected two nominees by the government to the collegiate due to restrictions imposed by the Law of State Companies, according to a notice to the market earlier this week (see in full).

According to the report, Pietro Mendes, nominated for the presidency of the Council, had his name rejected by the members of the collegiate for being the current Secretary of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, which may imply a “conflict of interests with the company”.

Sério Machado Rezende, on the other hand, had his nomination denied for being part of the PSB’s national directory until the middle of this month. The State-Owned Companies Law prohibits the appointment to the management position of “a person who acted, in the last 36 months, as a participant in the decision-making structure of a political party”.

Despite the decision, Petrobras’ Board of Directors states that the rejection of the names does not affect the Company’s Bylaws “until it is modified by the General Shareholders’ Meeting”. This is due to the decision of Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), who questioned certain prohibitions imposed by the State-Owned Companies Law “on public companies, mixed-capital companies and their subsidiaries”.