Brazil’s Americanas accuses former executives and officers of aiding fraud. Credit: HVL/commons.wikipedia.org.

Brazil-based holding company Americanas has admitted the involvement of some of its executives in defrauding the financial statements of retailer Lojas Americanas.

The confession was made in relation to a case that happened five months ago, when the company reported an accounting inconsistency of 21.7bn reais ($4.4bn) as of 30 September 2022.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

It comes as the retailer shared the report of its preliminary findings of the independent investigation into the case.

In its report, the retailer said: “The improper accounting of these financing operations in Americanas’ financial statements did not allow the correct determination of the company’s indebtedness level over time.”

The report, issued on 13 June 2023, accused ex-CEO Miguel Gutierrez and a number of former officers and executives of involvement in the fraud.

See Also:

Meanwhile, Reuters reported. that the current CEO of Americanas, Leonardo Coelho, who testified before lawmakers in Brasilia, claimed that the report only documented fraud committed by the former executives and that board members of the retailer were not involved in the conspiracy.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Americanas filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2023 after reporting the accounting scandal.

Earlier in the year, Sao Paulo Federal court judge Andrea Palma ordered the seizure of all corporate emails received and sent by managers and board members of Americanas following a request by creditor Banco Bradesco.

Last month, the retailer announced that it plans to begin a market-sounding process to divest its Hortifruti Natural da Terra (HNT) business unit.