01-04-2025
Brazil prosecutors charge former Americanas executives with fraud, local media reports
SAO PAULO, March 31 (Reuters) - Brazilian federal prosecutors charged 13 former executives of retailer Americanas ( opens new tab for fraud, including former Chief Executive Miguel Gutierrez, O Globo newspaper reported on Monday, citing the document with the charge.
Americanas had in early 2023 revealed accounting inconsistencies that led the company to file for bankruptcy, and later said it had been impacted by fraudulent activities from its former management.
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Brazil's federal prosecutors' office did not immediately respond to a request for comments outside normal business hours.
O Globo reported that the prosecutors pointed Gutierrez as the main responsible party, but said they also targeted other former top executives including Anna Saicali, Jose Timotheo de Barros and Marcio Cruz Meirelles on charges of fraud.
Timotheo de Barros' lawyer said he will demonstrate a rushed accusation which lacks impartiality.
A representative for Saicali declined to comment and representatives of Gutierrez and Cruz did not immediately respond to request for comment outside normal business hours.
Americanas started an arbitration against the four former executives earlier this year.
Last October, Brazil's securities regulator CVM accused them, along with other managers, of alleged insider trading.
