Head of Petrobras transport unit takes leave to facilitate auditing
Sérgio Machado, CEO of Transpetro, a transport subsidiary of Brazil's state-run Petrobras has taken a leave of absence from a position he has held for 11 years. His decision was an attempt to facilitate an internal audit currently carried out by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Machado was implicated by Petrobras's former Supply Director Paulo Roberto Costa as having benefited from a contract fraud scheme. Costa's statement was given from jail, as part of Operation Car Wash, launched by the Federal Police, following a plea bargain.
In a statement released Monday (Nov. 3), Machado denies Costa's allegations, listing the good results during his tenure and arguing he is not facing charges of any kind.
“I am proud of the job I've done in the past 11 years and four months as chairman of Transpetro. The company has achieved remarkable results during this period, and was subjected to a number of internal and external audits without any problems. (...) I am not facing prosecution with the TCU [Federal Court of Audit], nor any other lawsuits as a defendant. Over more than 30 years of public service, I have never been sued because of my actions.”
Machado declared, “In spite of an honorable life, over the past few weeks I have been subjected to slanderous allegations by former Petrobras director Paulo Roberto Costa, whose content has not even been made the subject of investigation by the appropriate government agencies. The allegations are frankly absurd, but eventually resulted in PwC's presenting their concerns to Petrobras's Auditing Committee of the Board of Directors.”
The executive also emphasized that his resignation is a temporary one. “Although the Board has postponed any considerations on such concerns, I have willingly decided to take unpaid leave for the next 31 days. I have spontaneously made this decision in order to keep away so that all the necessary facts can be definitively ascertained with no room for doubt. I have made this decision as someone who has nothing to fear about any of the investigations,” he said.
In a note issued on October 27, Petrobras announced it has hired two independent auditing firms—one from Brazil and one from the US, to establish the nature, the extent, and the impact of any actions that may have been taken in the context of the allegations made by Paulo Roberto Costa, and to find out the truth about any related facts and circumstances that may have a material impact on the company's business.
Operation Car Wash was initiated in March after years of investigation into money laundering, international drug trafficking, and embezzlement of public funds. The charges faced by former Petrobras Director Paulo Roberto Costa were filed as part of one of the ten penal actions opened during the operation.
Translated by Mayra Borges / Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Head of Petrobras transport unit takes leave to facilitate auditing
