BRB (Banco de Brasília) distributed VIP tickets for politicians, businesspeople and clients to attend the F1 GP in São Paulo, which took place on Sunday (9). One of the recipients was Antonio Rueda, president of and friend of Paulo Henrique Costa, president of the public bank, which belongs to the government of .
The public bank purchased tickets for the F1 Paddock Club, which guaranteed access to the most luxurious area of the race track and a privileged view of the track.
When contacted by the Panel, BRB did not inform the amounts spent, the number of tickets purchased, the people benefited or the criteria used to select them. In October, the bank, following a report from the Sheet regarding the hiring of a law firm to evaluate possible negotiations with Banco Master.
Rueda, in turn, stated that the invitation was not related to party activity and was a usual courtesy. According to him, the tickets arrived through the BRB relationship area and were directed to him and his wife, Flor, because they are both bank customers, as well as their companies.
“There was no direct request to the bank’s president nor any institutional dealings,” he added.
In 2024, BRB spent R$3.2 million on purchasing box tickets for the F1 GP in São Paulo, an amount that was published in the Official Gazette of the DF two days before the race, showed a report in the newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo. The Panel asked the bank to provide the contract or at least the extract of the contract, as published by the bank last year, but received no response.
In a note, the bank says that “major customers and employees who were awarded awards in an internal incentive campaign were invited” and that the bank’s relationship actions “aim to strengthen the brand, promote business, promote products and expand relationships with customers”.
The package for the Paddock Club was even costing for the three days of the event for those who purchased it through the F1 website, according to a UOL report.
The closeness between Rueda, Costa and the governor () became evident at the beginning of the year, when the president of União Brasil was named as one of those responsible for and the emedebista of Daniel Vorcaro, owner of Master, during negotiations for the purchase of the private bank by the public. After the Central Bank’s refusal, the business should no longer be off the ground.
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