Quoted to preside over Petrobras, the special secretary for the reduction of bureaucracy at the Ministry of Economy, Caio Mario Paes de Andrade, is suspected of using the public machine to search a company’s financial data.
In a process obtained by Sheet, Conclusiva Empreendimento e Participações states that the folder accessed information about the company available on Serasa without having reasons.
Conclusiva disputes an arbitration with Captalys, which belongs to Luís Cláudio Garcia de Souza, a friend of the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes. The two worked together at Banco Pactual. Captalys is chaired by Margot Greenman, wife of Paes de Andrade until 2020.
The companies became partners in 2012 for the construction of two real estate projects on land located in the mining towns of Sete Lagoas and Esmeraldas.
Conclusiva states that there was a diversion of resources in the partnership, and the project never advanced. That is why he asks for the return of the money contributed before dissolving the partnership.
“Conclusiva does not have any kind of relationship with the government. Therefore, there is no reason for the Ministry of Economy, which has as one of the most relevant secretaries, precisely, Mr. Caio Mario Paes de Andrade, suddenly to start monitoring the applicant”, says the company.
Also according to the company, the alleged access to the data by the Ministry of Economy “can only be explained as the use of public instruments for private purposes in the context of the dispute between the author and the Captalys Group”.
In theory, there is no administrative reason that could have motivated Paes de Andrade to obtain information about the company. He denies having accessed or authorized access to company data.
Serasa informs that there was a consultation of the Ministry of Economy on the Concluding. Access to the data took place on July 11, 2021. Initially, Conclusiva sent a letter to the ministry asking for clarification, but on October 20, the ministry replied that it would not be possible to identify the person responsible or the reason for the consultation.
Serasa, in turn, said that only the Economy could identify the login to access the data.
Faced with this back-and-forth, Conclusiva filed a lawsuit to obtain evidence. The company requests that an expertise be determined on the ministry’s computers if the author of the access is not voluntarily informed.
“If the plaintiff’s suspicion is confirmed, that Mr. Caio Paes de Andrade used the resources of the Ministry of Economy to investigate Conclusiva, with the purpose of obtaining advantages in his private litigation, we will be facing a very serious act of abuse of power and misuse of function,” the suit reads.
Conclusiva also states that the onslaught of the Ministry of Economy may not have been limited to Serasa.
“If the Ministry of Economy has been monitoring Conclusiva, it is quite possible that it has done so in other databases, related to other legal entities governed by private law or even to other bodies that are part of the direct and indirect Public Administration.”
Paes de Andrade currently heads the Special Secretariat for Debureaucratization, Management and Digital Government of the Ministry of Economy. In recent weeks, his name has emerged as quoted to preside over Petrobras after a setback for the government, which appointed Rodolfo Landim to the command of the board of directors and Adriano Pires to the company’s presidency. Both declined the invitation.
Guedes’ secretary himself says he was a partner in one of the companies of the Captalys Group. He maintained participation while chairing the Federal Data Processing Service (Serpro), a position he held before taking up his current post in the Economy.
The secretary claims to have informed the Public Ethics Commission of the Presidency of the situation, which assesses possible cases of conflict of interest involving authorities. And he claims to have already disposed of the shares in the company, but does not specify the date on which this occurred.
Conclusiva says that the rival promoted “a series of illicit acts” in “manifest damage to the partners”.
In the lawsuit, the company claims that these alleged wrongdoings gave rise to a dispute that, as of 2016, resulted in injunctions and, in particular, an arbitration proceeding, currently in progress before the Arbitration Chamber of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce. Canada.
Within the action, Conclusiva also cites a public call from BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) with the objective of transferring R$ 4 billion to investment funds, which would lend the money to micro and small companies.
The result of this competition was announced at the beginning of August 2020. Of the 70 competitors, there was a pre-selection of 12 funds, and, among those selected, two are linked to the Captalys Group.
According to the company, during the period of this competition, Paes de Andrade, who presided over Serpro, held a series of meetings with the BNDES’ high command and held a management position in a company belonging to the Captalys Group. “Which is a situation known to be prohibited by law,” the suit reads.
OTHER SIDE
Secretary Caio Paes de Andrade denied having accessed the information from Conclusiva. He also denied having authorized the ministry’s public servant to carry out the research on the Serasa database.
Paes de Andrade claims that he is no longer a partner in one of the companies of the Captalys Group and that, at the time, he informed the Presidency’s Ethics Commission about this company.
The secretary denies having a seat on Captalys’ board of directors and having worked with BNDES to help the company obtain funds.
Paes de Andrade also reported having separated from Margot Greenman in 2020.
Through his advice, the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, said that he is not a friend of the owner of Captalys.
“We have normal relationships with those who worked in the same market, having been contemporaries at Banco Pactual for three decades,” said the minister.
Captalys, via advisory, denied having received any information provided by Serasa from its rival Conclusiva through the Ministry of Economy.
The company claims that its founder and partner, Margot Greenman, never requested information from Conclusiva from secretary Caio Paes de Andrade, her ex-husband.
.