Americanas’ Ex-Chief Testifies Before Watchdog Following Accounting Scandal

According to a source acquainted with the situation, the former CEO of the embattled Brazilian retailer Americanas SA testified before the country’s securities watchdog on Thursday, as authorities investigate accounting irregularities.

Americanas entered bankruptcy protection in January shortly after disclosing accounting inconsistencies worth 20 billion reais ($3.78 billion) and overall debt of more than $8 billion. Securities watchdog CVM and other Brazilian authorities have since launched investigations.

The testimony of former Chief Executive Officer Miguel Gutierrez, whose two-decade leadership ended last year, lasted around four hours.

Gutierrez left CVM’s Rio de Janeiro headquarters accompanied by a lawyer and without speaking to reporters. He could not be immediately reached for comment, and CVM said in a statement it does not comment on specific cases.

The regulator has already heard from other former Americanas executives in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo states, including former Chief Executive Sergio Rial, who took over from Gutierrez just nine days before the scandal broke and resigned shortly after.