Gaspari questions possible maneuver to save Eike.
"What would lead a diplomat stationed in Singapore to suggest transferring a project to the portfolio of interests of Batista and Esteves?", asks the columnist, referring to the request by a Brazilian ambassador in Singapore to transfer a shipyard managed by the Jurong company in Espírito Santo to the Port of Açu, in Rio de Janeiro.
247 – Journalist Elio Gaspari, a columnist for the newspapers O Globo and Folha de S.Paulo, questions this Sunday the possible maneuver by the federal government to serve the interests of businessman Eike Batista and his newest partner, André Esteves, of BTG Pactual. "What would lead a diplomat stationed in Singapore to suggest transferring a project to the portfolio of interests of Batista and Esteves?", asks Gaspari, in article in Folha.
He refers to a Brazilian diplomat who allegedly approached the Singaporean company Jurong to transfer the shipyard it manages in the municipality of Aracruz, in Espírito Santo, to Eike Batista's Port of Açu in Rio de Janeiro. According to the diplomat, the management was requested by the Ministers of Finance, Guido Mantega, and Development, Fernando Pimentel. "If the ministers requested the management, they should have done so formally," says Gaspari.
Senator Ricardo Ferraço, who is from Espírito Santo, denounces the case, which is now in the hands of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Patriota (understand better at [link]). Senator denounces federal maneuver to save Eike.Below, read Elio Gaspari's article on the subject:
A mishap in Singapore
Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota has one of those troubles on his desk that end up costing diplomats dearly when they listen to the powerful figures of the moment. Senator Ricardo Ferraço denounced that the Brazilian ambassador to Singapore, Luís Fernando Serra, approached the management of the Jurong company to request that it transfer its shipyard from the municipality of Aracruz in Espírito Santo to the Port of Açu, in northern Rio de Janeiro. This venture belongs to businessman Eike Batista, who recently partnered with banker André Esteves of BTG Pactual. The Singaporean management was confirmed by Jurong's directors in Brazil.
Like a game of building blocks, a shipyard with 15% of its work completed, projected investments of R$ 500 million, and signed orders, would be transferred, in whole or in part, to another location. Essentially, it's about passing on orders and absorbing a competitor. Such an idea would hardly originate from the ambassador. According to Senator Ferraço, in a conversation with Nery De Rossi, Secretary of Development for the Espírito Santo state government, the diplomat stated that the move was requested by Ministers Guido Mantega (Finance) and Fernando Pimentel (Development). Both denied sponsoring the proposal.
If the ministers requested the management, they should have done so formally. In that case, it would be documented. What would lead a diplomat stationed in Singapore to suggest transferring a project to Batista and Esteves' portfolio of interests? This kind of hasty action is not in Itamaraty's tradition. On the contrary, in 1980, the Brazilian ambassador to Chile, Raul de Vincenzi, caused a chaotic situation in the Planalto Palace when a general who was a close friend of Augusto Pinochet told him that the transaction for a hydroelectric plant had already been agreed upon at higher levels in Brazil. When De Vincenzi recounted the meeting in an official telegram and requested instructions, the higher-ups said they had nothing to do with the matter.
Ricardo Ferraço chairs the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee and has formally asked Patriota to explain the story. We shall see.