The PSD believes there are contradictions between statements made by former TAP administrator Diogo Lacerda Machado in the investigative committee and documents confirming payments made to Geocapital in the purchase of the Brazil maintenance operation.
In a request submitted Tuesday to the chair of the parliamentary committee of inquiry into the political protection of TAP management and released this Wednesday, the PSD parliamentary group claims that Diogo Lacerda Machado stated on May 11 that Geocapital had not earned a penny of the operation.
The operation consisted of US$21 million (19.6 million euros) BCP financing from Geocapital for the purchase of Varig Maintenance and Engineering (VEM) and the payment of a 20% premium to Geocapital on the sale of 85 % in Reaching Force on TAP .
The former TAP administrator, cited in the filing, assured members of the Commission of Inquiry (CPI) that GeoCapital was not making a dime from this operation.
“There was an idea there, I don’t know where it came from, but it seemed like there was a prize.
GeoCapital was in the operation, the only beneficiary with capital gains was TAP itself,” he said at the time, quoted by the PSD faction.
According to the same request, Diogo Lacerda Machado stated that “GeoCapital raised 21 million [de dólares] into the banking system, which he put at the disposal of TAP, and he got exactly that money back, with the financial burden down to the penny.”
The sale of Geocapital’s stake in Reaching Force (85%) GeoCapital “has yielded nothing from this operation from an economic and financial point of view. Nothing!” he claimed.
However, according to the PSD faction, the CPI collection contains “a significant set of documents that explicitly contradict” most of Diogo Lacerda Machado’s statements, the Social Democrats claim in the application released this Wednesday.
According to the party, the CPI’s documents “explicitly and clearly show that there was in fact a 20% premium payment, ranging between EUR 4.2 million – USD 4,376,400, on the sale of the 85% interest held by Geocapital in Reaching Force”.
One of the contradictions pointed out by the Social Democrats is that Diogo Lacerda Machado stated at the CPI that this amount was to pay the financial burden in full and that the loan was granted at an interest rate of 7% and for 27 months.
“Now, between the contract for the creation of Reaching Force, dated November 2005, and the sale of Geocapital’s interest in that company, in March 2007, there are 16 months, a period considerably shorter than the 27 months that Diogo Lacerda Machado advanced”, be on the PSD.
“You could argue that TAP didn’t immediately liquidate the deal, but Diogo Lacerda Machado claims to have been the one to instruct the bank, without the money even going through Geocapital,” he adds.
Ultimately, if an interest rate of 7% were applied to the $21 million loan extended by BCP to Geocapital for 16 months, the financial cost would be approximately $1,960,000, significantly less than the $4,200 premium. 000 – $4,376,400,” adds the parliamentary group.
Given the alleged inconsistencies, the PSD, through the request filed this Wednesday, requests that BCP and Geocapital provide a “copy of the contract or financing operation between BCP and Geocapital, in 2005, worth $21 million, approximately, including table or indication of payments made – capital, financial charges and credit settlement”.
It also asks TAP for a “copy of the receipt, discharge document, detailed description of the purchase operation by TAP of the 85% stake Geocapital held in Reaching Force, if any [a CPI já dispõe do contrato de compra]”.
In addition, the Social Democratic deputies want Diogo Lacerda Machado to clarify some issues, such as the mention in the aforementioned contracts of the existence of a premium payment in the transaction of Geocapital’s participation in Reaching Force.
“This existence undoubtedly contradicts your statements at the CPI. Can you describe the operation again?” the PSD asks.
The party also wants to know the ultimate purpose of the premium payment and whether the financial charges have been calculated for a 27-month loan, at a rate of 7%, “which would bring the total interest closer to $4 million.” to lay down”. “, leaving about $1 million unexplained.
Among other things, the Social Democratic deputies are asking for details of the actual costs and the sending of extracts, proof of payment of the financial costs and settlement of the said loan by Geocapital.
Source: DN
