Lack of Transparency Regarding Money Transfers Led to Arrest of Inhotim Founder

12/13/2017 - 11h03

Entrepreneur Bernardo de Mello Paz, 67, was sentenced for money laundering because of a lack of transparency, not because of bribes or misappropriated funds.

The businessman founded Inhotim, a contemporary art museum in the city of Brumadinho (Minas Gerais), which is 57 kilometers away from Belo Horizonte, the state capital.

The court ruling that was issued by federal judge Camila Franco e Silva Velano shook the art world and cast doubt on the future of Inhotim.

Mr. Paz, who is one of the biggest art patrons in the country, said that he has invested approximately R$ 150 million (US$ 45.5 million) of his own money in art over the past 18 years.

The money, which he earned through the mining companies he owns, was used to raise 23 art galleries and gardens with over 4,500 species, but also to acquire 1300 works of art for Inhotim.

The 140-hectare nature-packed museum has attracted nearly 2.7 million visitors in its 10 years of existence.

Mr. Paz was the only Brazilian who was featured in a 2011 edition of English magazine "Art Review", and its list of the 100 most influential people in the art world.

The businessman, who was sentenced to nine years in prison, stepped down as the museum's CEO and will await the result of his appeal before he begins serving his sentence.

The institution's public relations battle can be summarized as an attempt to demonstrate to collaborators, partners and to society that the investigations into the status of Mr. Paz's finances do not concern the finances of Inhotim.

Back in 2008, the museum was transformed into an Oscip NGO (Public Interest Civil Society Organization) and its finances were untangled from Mr. Paz's companies.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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	Paulo Otero/Divulgação
	Businessman Bernardo de Mello Paz