STJ denies appeal and Banco Votorantim has to unlock amounts to Americanas

The Superior Court of Justice rejected the appeal filed by Banco Votorantim against Americanas in which it requested the suspension of the decision of the 1st Business and Arbitration Court of the Judicial District of São Paulo/SP to return amounts blocked by the bank regarding credits from the retailer .

In the decision, Minister OG Fernandes determines “the immediate restitution of any and all amounts that creditors [Banco Votorantim] eventually offset, withheld and/or appropriated, due to the material fact disclosed to the market on January 11th”.

That was the date on which Americanas disclosed “countable inconsistencies” in the amount of BRL 20 billion, which subsequently led to the retailer’s bankruptcy filing, claiming approximately BRL 43 billion in debt.

The minister also denies the request for urgency “for not verifying at this procedural moment the necessary verisimilitude of the allegations”. Fernandes alleges that “apparently, the measure intends, by oblique means, to achieve a modifying effect of the decision handed down in the records of the preparatory precautionary measure for the recovery process not granted in the ordinary appeal route.”

The decision also ratifies the competence of the State of São Paulo Court in the case, in which it claims to verify that “the probability of knowledge of the present conflict of competence is not present”, according to the bank’s action. “From a perfunctory analysis of the file, I verify the absence of minimal proof of the alleged conflict of competence”, he writes.

“The decisions handed down by the São Paulo Court only supported the jurisdiction of the Court of Judicial Reorganization, when they asserted that the urgent relief claimed was intended to achieve a modifying effect of the preliminary injunction preparatory to the reorganization process, a measure to be sought in the ordinary appeal route.

OG Fernandes also rejects the request for secrecy of justice made by the bank, stating that it was “generally formulated”, without indicating that the request falls within the criteria for such.

Last Friday (27), Justice determined that Votorantim and Safra banks should return the resources that were blocked from the company’s accounts. According to a court decision to which the CNN had access, Votorantim has already returned R$ 210 million and the funds were deposited sub judice, while Safra had 24 hours to do the same or be fined for litigation in bad faith. Votorantim then appealed.

This past week, the Supreme Court of Justice reversed a decision favorable to Americanas and kept BRL 1.2 billion blocked by Banco BTG.