The Federal Police begin hearing testimony about the Lojas Americanas crisis
Justice determines whether there is indeed an accounting discrepancy or whether the company has committed fraud
Deposit stage for Federal police in relation to the so-called accounting discrepancies of billionaires in the retail chain AMERICAS began this Wednesday, 8. Several employees and former employees have been called to give clarifications on the situation announced at the beginning of this year 2023. According to people connected to the group and heard by Jovem Pan, a former executive of the group was was questioned at the PF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. It would have been removed after the scandal broke in the press. The group’s former president, Sergio Rial, who took office this year and immediately left the post due to a financial scandal, was due to be questioned in São Paulo, at the CVM, on the same day. The process assesses a potential conflict of interest. The discrepancies, which for many specialists are accounting fraud, led the company to a judicial recovery process. The depositions were scheduled to take place in the coming days, but defense attorneys have adopted the strategy of requesting the rescheduling of the hearings. The PF is part of a task force, together with the Securities Commission (CVM) and the Federal Public Ministry, to investigate accounting discrepancies or fraud. By the end of March, an accurate diagnosis of the group’s situation must be presented to the Court of Rio de Janeiro, where the process of judicial recovery of the company is underway. The company accounts for 9,000 creditors, including large banks. The liabilities of the Americanas group would be about $40 billion.
*With information from reporter Rodrigo Viga
