Brazil's Former Finance Minister Tried to Hide Loss Account of Petrobras

05/08/2015 - 08h54

Former Finance Minister, Guido Mantega, tried to stop the disclosure of a calculation commissioned by Petrobras that indicated losses of US$ 29.3 billion (R$ 88.6 billion) in the company's assets.

Folha had access to an audio recorded during a meeting of the council held on January 27 this year.

Mantega, who was the company's chairman at the time, said that the calculation, made by consulting firm Deloitte and the bank BNP Paribas, was "temerity"; he also found himself pitted against the former president of the state run-company, Graça Foster.

The executive argued that the market should be informed, what ended up happening.

Foster's attitude displeased President Dilma Rousseff and she lost her job shortly afterwards, being replaced by Aldemir Bendine, ex-president of Banco do Brasil.

"I think it is temerity to disclose that number. It will affect our rating, the financial cost, the company's solidity for something we are not sure about. It creates the possibility that Petrobras has a much higher debt compared to equity", said the minister on the audio recording.

During the meeting, which lasted eight hours, Foster argued the numbers should be reported; a request supported by the representatives of the minority shareholders. She said she was worried about being held responsible for withholding information from the market.

"And what if the CVM [Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil] asks me about those numbers? If it exists, why wasn't it reported? Who is hiding this number? Whose responsibility is it? The Board of Directors' or the Council's?", said Foster, highlighting she was afraid of leaks, because "more than 100 people had access" [to the calculation].

In response, Mantega says the company "makes multiple reports and not all are revealed".

He also affirmed that "what we discuss here is under confidentiality rules. We are all responsible people. [The number calculated by Deloitte] it shouldn't leak".

At the time, Petrobras' board of directors intended to inform the calculation in an accompanying note, instead of recognizing the loss.

The amount was not included in the report released three weeks ago. However, the company admitted to having lost US$ 14.7 billion (R$ 44.6 billion) in assets, mainly due to mismanagement and corruption related to the construction of refineries.

Former minister Mantega informed that "what matters is that, when he was the chairman, the council disclosed the data, and that internal discussions are part of the decision-making process of the company".

Translated by JULIANA CALDERARI

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	Sergio Lima/Folhapress
	Brazil's Former Finance Minister Guido Mantega