BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil's securities regulator CVM has charged eight former executives at retailer Americanas with insider trading involving the company's securities ahead of the revelation of a high-profile accounting scandal in 2023.
In a statement late Friday, the CVM said that after concluding an administrative investigation, it gathered “solid, convincing and converging elements” to support the accusations against former CEO Miguel Gutiérrez and seven other former executives, including José Timotheo de Barros and Anna Cristina Saicali.
Americanas said the results of investigations by its independent committee and authorities show that it was the victim of a “complex accounting fraud” orchestrated by its former executives, including the misuse of insider information.
The company said it is very interested in clarifying the facts and ensuring that all those responsible are held legally accountable.
Gutiérrez's defense said the allegations are based on unproven assumptions, adding that the executive's stock sale “was carried out with integrity and fully in accordance with current regulations.”
Barros' lawyer said he had nothing to say and added that his client's defense would be done by “proving innocence with objective data.”
A representative for Saicali said he would not comment on the matter.
The Americana accounting fraud case shook Brazilian markets last year, raising concerns about regulatory oversight and effective punishment for any misconduct.
The retailer, backed by three billionaires who founded investment firm 3G Capital, filed for bankruptcy after discovering $4 billion in accounting discrepancies.
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