Investigated by Cui Bono, Marfrig's controlling shareholder closes a R$ 100 million settlement.

247 - The businessman and controller of the Marfrig group, Marcos Antônio Molina dos Santos, signed a settlement agreement with the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Federal District, committing to pay R$ 100 million in damages for material, moral, and social harm. Molina is under investigation in Operation Cui Bono for allegedly receiving R$ 10 million in bribes to secure a loan from Caixa Econômica Federal. Operation Cui Bono, launched last year, investigates suspected irregularities in the release of Caixa loans to large companies and focuses on the former Vice-President of Corporate Banking at Caixa, Geddel Vieira Lima.

The payment made by Molina refers to illicit credit operations (Bank Credit Note) carried out by Marfrig to access R$ 300 million in credits that had already been paid off. Despite the agreement, the Federal District Prosecutor's Office emphasizes that this "does not exempt the businessman from being held accountable for the illegal acts investigated in Operation Cui Bono" and that "the signing of the agreement is not to be confused with a leniency agreement or a plea bargain, as it does not involve the recognition of criminal or administrative responsibility of a natural or legal person. Furthermore, it does not provide for any type of benefit nor does it prevent the supplementation of the fine by other control bodies. The document allows that, if indicted and convicted for the facts contained in the agreement, the investigated party may have their sentence reduced, depending on the sentence handed down by the judge."