Documents from the internal investigation that runs at Americanas reveal that the company’s audit committee even questioned its directors more than once about the operations that caused the millionaire gap in the retailer.
In all the inquiries made, the directors denied any “withdrawal risk” or “forfait” operation that had generated the breach. The questioning of executives took place at least four times, between 2020 and 2022.
The information was revealed by O Globo and confirmed by CNN . The “withdrawal risk” — jargon also known as “forfait”– are accounting “inconsistencies” that can affect the company’s creditor banks.
In practice, these are operations that use customer receivables to leverage the company with bank financing, with the company’s guarantee.
A CNN economist and FGV professor Roberto Kanter, specialist in retail, said that the practice is not uncommon among large companies and explained how it can affect the accounting available on the company’s balance sheet.
“When Americanas purchases from suppliers, it usually sets a very long term for payment, often up to 180 days. As she buys in large volumes, suppliers agree to sell the product and receive it within this period. But, within a week after the sale is made, the financial intermediary contacts the seller and offers to advance the amount,” he said.
Judicial recovery
The company faces a crisis since, on January 11, it communicated to the market accounting inconsistencies around BRL 20 billion, leading the retailer to file a request for judicial recovery days later, which was accepted by the Justice.
The company disclosed debts of BRL 42 billion and 7,720 official creditors, as requested by the Justice of Rio de Janeiro. The process became the 4th largest judicial recovery in Brazil. More than half of the company’s debt is with the largest Brazilian banks.
There are more than R$ 22 billion divided among just nine banks. Deutsche Bank accounts for the largest exposure to the retailer, of US$ 1 billion dollars (R$ 5.2 billion).
In addition to banks, there are even technology companies such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The document disclosed also contains debts with carriers, airlines, smaller service companies and thousands of individuals.
Among the creditors to be received, there is even the Brazilian Ambev, which belongs to the same reference shareholders of Americanas: Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira.(
(With information from Fabrício Julião)
Source: CNN Brasil
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