Public Ministry asks TCU to investigate alleged government interference in Petrobras

The Public Ministry with the TCU (Union Court of Auditors) asked the court to investigate an alleged interference by the Jair Bolsonaro government in Petrobras and in the company’s pricing policy, the body said on Monday (14).

The representation, signed by the deputy attorney general of the MP with the TCU, Lucas Rocha Furtado, cites a series of statements by President Bolsonaro regarding the company’s pricing policy in a tone of criticism and demands for changes.

The complaint, which was distributed to the TCU minister Augusto Nardes, comes after the president questions the increase made last week by Petrobras, which readjusted diesel by around 25% and gasoline by almost 19%.

A first analysis of the complaint will be made by the technical team of the TCU, and then Nardes must decide whether to take the complaint forward.

According to the document, Bolsonaro’s position intensified with the soaring of the barrel of oil, as a result of the war between Ukraine and Russia.

“[Peço para] to investigate possible undue interference by the Bolsonaro government in the mixed-capital company Petróleo Brasileiro SA -Petrobras, as well as guarantee the company’s independence in the face of potential irregular acts that would be being perpetrated by the controlling shareholder…”, says the representation.

Following the deputy attorney, there are indications of an affront to the law, “in addition to causing vulnerability in the governance of the Union in relation to the company, due to excessive interference in corporate decisions about the definition of prices of oil derivatives (the state-owned company’s core activity), with possible material damages to Petrobras, to its market image and to minority shareholders…”.

He added that this could generate, on the part of these shareholders, judicial questions in the face of the Union, including requests for compensation, says an excerpt from the representation.

Sought after, the Planalto Palace did not immediately comment on the matter.

Bolsonaro regretted the fact that the state-owned company did not wait for the approval of projects in Congress, which could bring some relief to fuel prices, to announce the increase.

Afterwards, the president again criticized the company’s high profits.

Amid the charges, the government appointed new names for the state-owned company’s Board of Directors, among them, the president of Flamengo and former executive of the oil company Rodolfo Landim, who is close to Bolsonaro.

Landim was appointed to be the new chairman.

(Collaborated by Pedro Fonseca)