Brazil’s Securities Commission (CVM) has charged former Americanas chief executive Miguel Gutierrez and 29 of the retail giant’s former executives and employees, as well as the company itself, with defrauding more than BRL 20 billion (USD 3.7 billion) from the retailer’s financial statements over at least a decade. Revealed in 2023, the scandal is one of the largest corporate fraud cases in Brazil’s history.
Three years after launching the investigation, the CVM’s technical department said Gutierrez led the scheme and instructed other employees to manipulate the company’s balance sheets to report fictitious profits and conceal real debt. Investigators, however, cleared the company’s main shareholders.
Two financial mechanisms were primarily used to rig the numbers: a form of advertising budget allocation, and the fraudulent use of forfaiting transactions — a common financing tool in Brazil’s retail sector, wherein banks advance payments on receivables owed to suppliers.
You’re missing out on the full story
Get smarter on Brazil and Latin America
Enjoy 14-day free trial now!The full picture. The sharpest takes. All in your inbox, every day:
- 🏆 Award-winning journalism, trusted worldwide
- 📊 Exclusive charts and analyses
- 🗃️ Archive access
- 💬 Commenting
