Court orders Microsoft to hand over emails from Americanas executives

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Judge Andréa Galhardo Palma, from the 2nd Regional Court of Business Competence and Conflicts Related to Arbitration in São Paulo, partially accepted a request made by Bradesco and determined that Microsoft deliver, within three days, copies of executives’ email boxes from Americanas.

Collection, according to the decision, should be carried out by a Kroll expert and a bailiff. Microsoft is the retailer’s e-mail server provider. Americanas claimed to have BRL 43 billion in debt.

The search and seizure of the network’s electronic communications was at an impasse. Last week, the 2nd Corporate Court of the Judicial District of Rio de Janeiro (where Americanas’ judicial reorganization is in progress) refused to comply with the data collection.

In the decision released this Wednesday (8), the São Paulo judge considered that the situation demanded “adoption of measures to avoid the risk of the evidence to be produced in this process being lost.”

Andréa Palma also determined that the KPMG and PwC consultants should be notified of the obligation to keep all physical and electronic correspondence related to the audits carried out in the last ten years at Americanas.

The physical and electronic retail giant filed for bankruptcy in January after a billionaire accounting scandal was made public.

Kroll, included in the request made by Bradesco for the anticipated production of evidence, was appointed by the Justice of São Paulo to carry out the forensics of the emails seized at Americanas. Two auditing companies indicated by the court in the request, EY and Deloitte, refused the request, claiming a conflict of interest and not accepting to work on the case.

In this Wednesday’s decision, Judge Andréa Palma also gave Americanas 48 hours to give the expert access to all the documents requested in the lawsuit.

She states that the measure observes “principles of good faith, procedural collaboration and the public interest in the transparency of the impartial investigation and preservation of evidence for future purposes, whether for clarification and satisfaction of creditors, investors and suppliers or for possible repair of damages .”

In addition to Bradesco, Santander and Safra banks also sought the Judiciary with actions for the early production of evidence. They want the communications expertise to attest to the retail giant’s management fraud.

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