Brothers Germán and José Efromovich were arrested Wednesday as part of a new phase of the Lava Jato corruption investigation in Brazil. They allegedly paid bribes to win a shipbuilding contract with Transpetro, a logistics unit of Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras.
In an exclusive dialogue with La FM and RCN News, Germán Efromovich said that the case makes no sense. He said that five years ago they sued the company they now say paid bribes to.
“Five years ago we filed a lawsuit against this company over the same contracts, that is, against the company that they insinuate we have done some illicit act or paid some kind of tip. We had to sue the company that we had paid to benefit us, it doesn’t make sense, it doesn’t have any legs,” he said.
He confirmed that he is being preventively detained at his home in Sao Paulo and affirmed that there is no accusation or trial but rather an investigation that “without a doubt is going to be totally frustrated by this fantasy that they have invented.
The Avianca shareholder said that it is all due to the lawsuit they filed against Transpetro, which is ongoing in Rio de Janeiro, and he said it is in his favor for R$500 million.
“My speculation is that since we are winning this big lawsuit they set up this fantasy situation to see if with that they can get the other lawsuit to not give us the process as won and not have to pay that amount of money. That’s the only reason I can think of.”
He insisted on his innocence and said his lawyers will file an appeal with the Brazilian authorities to reconsider his detention.
“Already the lawyers are coming in with a request for reconsideration to the trial showing how the prosecution was led by a fantasy story into an error and I hope that next week that will be totally resolved”.
What about Avianca?
Efromovich said that despite the situation he is in at the moment he will continue with the process to make an offer to reorganize the airline.
“Theoretically, I’m not at Avianca today. I got the financing company and got investors interested in making an investment in Avianca (…) we already officially sent a letter to Milbank and said that we want to participate in the investment”.
He added that they are still interested in acquiring Alitalia in case the sale opens. He indicated that there is no reason to suspend anything.
“The investors who are with me have an interest in doing so and we will continue with the process, we have already signed the confidentiality agreement with Avianca’s Milbank lawyers in New York and our investors, together with us, will participate in the financing for recapitalization of the company. I am not going to abandon the work I started in Colombia in 2004, if they let me, we will do it”.
By Noticias RCN
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