The owner of Banco Master, Daniel Vorcaro, is launching an offensive before the United States courts to try to stop the liquidation of the institution, decreed by the Central Bank (BC) in November last year.
Documents cited by the newspaper The Globe and obtained by Broadcast (Group Estado’s real-time news system) reveal the banker’s request to the South Florida Bankruptcy Court, this week, to deny the recognition of the process in the USA. As justification, he cites the contestation of the case by the Federal Audit Court (TCU), claiming that the bank’s fate could be reversible.
“The liquidation of Banco Master is a contested issue in Brazil. While liquidation may be inevitable in some cases, the record is far from clear that liquidation is inevitable for Banco Master,” says Vorcaro’s defense, in an objection filed with the US Court on January 5.
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The liquidator of Banco Master appointed by the Central Bank, EFB Regimes Especiais de Empresas, entered a Florida bankruptcy court in December with a request for recognition in the United States for the institution’s liquidation process in Brazil, within the so-called ‘Chapter 15’, which allows the recognition of foreign restructuring or judicial recovery processes in the USA. Thus, it is possible for the EFB to access documents or assets related to those involved in the country.
The judge responsible for the case is Scott M. Grossman, who on Wednesday, the 7th, heard the parties in a court hearing.
The objective of Vorcaro and his advisors is to prevent Master’s assets in the US from being used to pay any of the bank’s creditors. To this end, Vorcaro asks the South Florida Bankruptcy Court to bar the “chapter 15” request. In the request, many parts of the document are unavailable, covered by confidentiality issues.
“The Court must deny the petition because recognition would violate basic public policies of the United States,” states Vorcaro, in the document.
As justification, he cites the exception provided for in Section 1506, which applies, among other hypotheses, “when the procedural justice of the foreign process is in doubt”, such as the TCU’s challenge.
“Recognition would be premature and inconsistent with the purpose and objectives of ‘Chapter 15′”, reinforces the Brazilian banker.
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In the request to the US Court, Vorcaro says that he “searched for innovative strategies” to reach more individuals and families in Brazil who were excluded from the banking system in the country and that he managed to attract “billions of reais from retail investors”. However, it considers that its business strategy was based on the current regulatory regime and mentions coverage by the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC).
In Brasília, this Thursday, the minister reporting the case at the TCU, Jhonatan de Jesus, formally withdrew his decision to inspect the documents at the BC headquarters. He asked that the inspection be analyzed by the TCU plenary.
The minister’s role in the case has provoked questions about the limits of the Court of Auditors in the process. TCU experts and technicians interviewed by the Estadão they say that the court could not interfere in the settlement determined by the Central Bank, much less act to try to reverse the monetary authority’s decision.
