06/30/2024 – 19:52
The former director of Americanas Anna Christina Ramos Saicali, who had her preventive arrest ordered, handed herself in in Lisbon this Sunday, the 30th. She is expected to leave for Brazil around midnight, local time, and disembark in Guarulhos early in the morning of this Monday, 1st.
The former executive must then hand over her passport to the Federal Police and can go home to await the next steps of the investigation.
The review of the arrest request against Saicali was carried out by judge Márcio Muniz da Silva Carvalho, from the 10th Federal Criminal Court, in Rio de Janeiro, who replaced the preventive detention order with a precautionary measure after her defense reported that the former director had committed to returning to Brazil.
Saicali had been in Portugal since the 15th. The defense informed the court that she had a flight scheduled to Brazil for July 5th. The reservation was made on June 26th, the day after the preventive arrest of the former director of Americanas was decreed, without the businesswoman’s lawyers explaining the change in the date of her return to Brazil (initially scheduled for the 26th itself).
She joined the retailer in 1997 as the director responsible for the people and technology areas. In 2004, she was promoted to CEO of B2W Digital, as a result of the incorporation of Submarino.com. In 2018, she became Chairman of the Board of Directors while also heading Ame Digital, the retailer’s digital wallet. She also founded and was CEO of AME, Americanas’ fintech platform, from 2021 to 2023.
Saicali was removed from her duties on February 3 of last year, the month after the company’s billion-dollar deficit was revealed by then CEO Sérgio Rial.
A market statement issued on June 13, 2023 by Americanas stated that a report prepared by the legal department pointed out fraud in the accounting inconsistencies pointed out by Rial. “The documents analyzed indicate that the company’s financial statements had been falsified by the previous management of Americanas,” the document submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) stated.
The same statement indicated verbatim the participation of Miguel Gutierrez and Anna Saicali in the scheme. Gutierrez denied the allegations. On the day she would be heard at the Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) of the Chamber of Deputies, opened to investigate the breach in Americanas, Anna took advantage of a habeas corpus to remain silent.
According to a complaint from the Federal Public Ministry of Rio presented to the Court, the two former executives had committed accounting fraud, allegedly anticipating payments to suppliers through bank loans, which is known in the market as risk-drawn operations.
The complaint also indicates evidence of the use of privileged information, criminal association, money laundering and the practice of market manipulation.
On Saturday, the 29th, the former CEO’s lawyers reinforced that he “never participated in or had knowledge of any fraud and has been cooperating with the authorities, providing the necessary clarifications in the appropriate forums”. “With access to the records, Miguel will now be able to exercise his defense against the allegations arising from false reports against him”, stated the executive’s lawyers.
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