Employee accuses former Caixa deputy of covering up sexual harassment allegations

In an interview with Fantástico this Sunday (3), a Caixa employee accused the bank’s former vice president of Wholesale Business, Celso Leonardo Barbosa, of having covered up abuses committed by Pedro Guimarães at the institution. According to the servant, Barbosa watched the women who did not give in to the harassment of the then president of the bank.

According to the official, who preferred not to be identified, the women “marked” by the former president were subordinate to Barbosa, who was trying to cover up the case. She says that the executive pretended to welcome the women who resisted the harassment of Guimarães to monitor if there was a risk of denunciation by the servants.

In a note, the former vice president’s defense states that the executive asked to resign from the bank even though there was “absolutely nothing against him” and understands that the decision was necessary “so that the impartiality of the accusations is not questioned”.

Barbosa was considered number 2 in Guimarães and often replaced him in command of the institution, in addition to being a close ally of the former president. The executive left office on Friday (1st), after suspicions that he could have covered up the situation at the bank.

In a meeting, the council tried to define the way Barbosa would leave: by immediate dismissal or by a removal for a determined period, while new information was collected. Barbosa, however, preferred to resign.

Reports from victims and other officials indicate that the episodes were known to at least part of the board and vice presidents. After indicating the possible involvement of other members of the institution’s top management, the bank’s board of directors decided to hire an external audit to investigate the allegations.

Barbosa joined Caixa in January 2019 as a strategic advisor to the bank’s presidency and became vice president in March 2020.

The new president of Caixa, Daniella Marques, wants to create a crisis committee to investigate the episodes narrated by the victims and identify others who might be involved.

The accusations of sexual harassment against Pedro Guimarães were revealed on Tuesday (28) by the Metrópoles portal, which also reported the existence of an investigation by the Federal Public Ministry.

The women narrated episodes such as intimate touches without consent, invitations incompatible with the professional environment and other inappropriate behavior. Sheetan employee reported being pulled by the neck and being in shock after the episode.

Guimarães’ lawyer, José Luis Oliveira Lima, denied all the allegations to Fantástico.

Caixa reported last week that an internal investigation into harassment was launched in May and is ongoing, but is being held in secrecy, by the institution’s internal affairs department.

In addition, the president of the TCU (Union Court of Accounts), Minister Ana Arraes, determined the opening of an inspection at Caixa Econômica Federal to verify the entire policy of preventing and combating sexual harassment at the bank.