The process, which was initiated by the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) after a series of irregularities were found in the Revit project, has been stalled since the end of October, and has been blocked due to review requests submitted by two of the agency’s directors, Daniel Maia and Fernando Mora. As a result, an analysis of the case could not be carried out, which could lead to the final closure of the refinery or reconsideration of the ban.
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The requests reflect a division within the agency. On the one hand are the two managers who led the inspection that closed the refinery last September, Pietro Mendes and Simone Araujo. Reffit submitted a request to the National Police demanding that the matter be suspected and prevented from acting in this operation. Until a decision is issued in this regard, the case will not be finalized.
The refinery accuses Petro of working for Petrobras because he chairs the board of directors of the state-owned company. In addition to the appeal to the Afghan National Police, Pietro Méndez and Simón Araujo have been the target of at least five other actions in the courts and even in the legislature – such as a criminal complaint filed with the Federal Police (PF) accusing the duo of crimes of abuse of power and irregularities, a measure to repair material and moral damages in the Court of First Instance and complaints filed with the Federal Court of Audit (TCU), the Federal Comptroller General (CGU) and the Chamber of Deputies. Representatives.
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However, at the ANP meeting that discussed the case, the appeal was overturned by 3 votes to 2 – in addition to Simone and Pietro, the ANP president, Artur Watt, also voted against it. Next, Maya claimed that two of the accused could not vote in this process and that only the three non-accused could vote – which could actually reverse the outcome of the vote that Rivette lost.
Faced with disagreement, Maya and Mora requested a review of the case and postponed the case definition. The two managers, who are seen behind the scenes and in the fuel market as being linked to Revit, remain committed to quickly restarting operations, but have not done so so far. The deadline ends in early December.
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This Thursday, Operation Refit was the target of a massive operation carried out in several Brazilian states starting with São Paulo, where searches and seizures were carried out at 190 addresses linked to the group accused of tax evasion, tax fraud and criminal organization, among others.
An ANP inspection with federal revenue that led to the replenishment ban concluded that the refinery purchased finished gasoline from other countries, but simulated refining to pay lower taxes. It still distributes gasoline at lower prices, and has not paid the taxes due. As a persistent debtor, making tax evasion its source of revenue, Refit owes R$26.6 billion to state and federal governments.
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In addition to the ban imposed by the Brazilian National Police, in September, the tax authority seized two ships carrying 91 million liters of diesel worth R$290 million and 115 tons of fuel additive inputs coming from abroad that will be destined for refit. In a memo issued on Thursday, Revit denied the fraud and said the tax debts identified by the Sao Paulo Finance Department were being questioned by the company in court.
Retifit then launched an attack on the National People’s Army and the agency’s directors. At the end of October, the Brazilian National Police allowed the partial reopening of the refinery, which was also the target of the MP’s actions, as well as the offices of the Refit group and its owner Ricardo Magro in Rio de Janeiro.
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The opening of part of the refinery was not authorized by Simón Araujo or Pietro Mendes. Officially, the regulatory body stated that the company met ten of the 11 conditions required to reopen the space. The distillation tower was kept closed only until the renovation company demonstrated the necessity of using the structure for gasoline production, which would only happen through a mass vote in the NPA, which has not yet happened.
By defending the managers’ skepticism, Rivette tries to ensure that the duo is not involved in the decision-making process. This attempt did not succeed. But the operation remains stalled, ensuring the refinery has some breathing room in Rio de Janeiro even as all the investigations and investigations are underway in the rest of Brazil.
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Below is the note sent by Refit:
Rivett explains that the tax debts identified by the Ministry of Finance in São Paulo, which served as the basis for Operation Buco de Lobato, are being questioned by the company in court – just as are countless Brazilian companies that deviate from tax charges, including Petrobras itself, the largest city in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Therefore, this is a legitimate legal dispute and not any attempt to hide income or tax fraud. All taxes are duly declared, hence there is no need to talk about tax evasion.
It is unfortunate that the powers that be are allowing themselves to be misled by the cartel of distributors represented by the Legal Combustion Institute.