A lawyer who acted against Petrobras in the US will sue the Americans

In an interview with the newspaper seeLawyer Andre de Almeida It was revealed that the shareholders, funds and managers of Lojas Americanas had approached him to lead a future joint action against the retailer, after a request for judicial recovery was accepted by a Rio de Janeiro judge on Thursday (19/1).

The worker put in his application the fact that he was able to sign a R$ 9 billion settlement in a case against Petrobras in the United States.

According to Almeida, since the 12th he has been trying to represent shareholders, managers and injured creditors in the United States, a country where Americans trade ADRs (share receipts).

He explained that he wanted to replicate the strategy used in the deal with Petrobras and said he would work on operations in Brazil and the United States.

“My hope is that this matter should be resolved in the courts of Brazil and the United States. I believe in using both jurisdictions. Another interesting thing is that I will not sue for the return of R$ 20 billion. (Appraised value of loss to the company), I will ask for refund and penalty. In the case of Petrobras, the penalties for fraud in the United States were so high that the billionaires were more than compensated.”

The lawyer believes that the company’s request for judicial recovery should not hinder its strategy. “I don’t think the request will change the strategy for repayment. After all, RJ helps create a mix of lenders, and does not give shelter or protection to fraudsters. The company is not innocent, neither are the regulators and council members.”

He said he believed the company had long-standing accounting fraud and that PwC audit could also be held responsible. Finally, he compares it to the case of Enron in the US, where accounting fraud continued for more than a decade until it was discovered in 2001. “In turn, the case is not only Enron, the world’s largest electricity company, but also Arthur Andersen, who audited the company.”