TCU condemns Cerveró and Gabrielli in Pasadena case.

Sabrina Craide – Reporter for Agência Brasil

The Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) today (30) ruled irregular the accounts of former Petrobras president José Sérgio Gabrielli and former director of the company's International Area Nestor Cerveró, due to irregularities in the purchase of the Pasadena Refinery, in Texas (USA). They will have to pay US$ 79,89 million together, plus R$ 10 million each in fines and will be disqualified from holding public office for eight years.

This is the first substantive decision by the TCU (Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts) regarding irregularities in the refinery acquisition, and it only addressed debts related to the signing of the letter of intent sent by Petrobras to Astra during negotiations. Three other cases are under review by the court, which will investigate the acquisition debt, labor and tax liabilities, and Astra's responsibility in the negotiation.

In the case evaluated today by the TCU (Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts), the Board of Directors of Petrobras, which was chaired by Dilma Rousseff, then Minister of Mines and Energy, was not cited, as it disapproved of the sending of the letter of intent. However, the accountability of the board will still be decided by the TCU in other proceedings.

Vital do Rego explained that, during the negotiations for the purchase of the refinery, Cerveró and Gabrielli participated in the discussions that resulted in the signing of the document entitled Letter of Intent, which established a purchase price for the refinery of US$788 million and did not contain the information that the terms proposed therein did not create obligations between the parties.

According to Vital do Rego, Cerveró acted with an excess of power, exceeding the limits of his competence, since he did not submit the proposal presented to Astra to Petrobras' executive board. He also emphasized that the letter of intent did not contain a paragraph stating that the proposals were not definitive and did not create obligations. "The absence of this paragraph allowed Astra to claim that it was a firm offer."

Regarding Gabrielli, the rapporteur concluded that the former president participated in meetings and followed the progress of negotiations for the purchase of the remaining 50% of the refinery, and instructed the submission of a purchase proposal without the knowledge of Petrobras' executive board. According to Vital do Rego, the documentation meticulously examined by Petrobras' Internal Commission confirms the former president's participation in the negotiations that resulted in the signing of the letter of intent.

"It is unreasonable to consider that Mr. José Sérgio Gabrielli was unaware of the actions of his direct subordinate in formalizing a deal of this magnitude," said the rapporteur. Gabrielli's lawyer, Henrique Araújo Costa, argued that the former president never instructed Cerveró to make a purchase offer for the refinery.