Oil refinery owes R$14.3 billion to Rio and has been in judicial recovery since 2016; MP-RJ files for company bankruptcy
The government of Rio de Janeiro revoked the state registration of Refit (Manguinhos Petroleum Refinery), located in the state capital, this Friday (May 29, 2026). THE (State Finance Department) changed the company’s registration status to “impeded”, ending a registration that had been active since 1977. The measure directly affects the refinery’s relationship with the State tax authorities and increases pressure on the company, which has been in judicial recovery since 2016. The information was published by the newspaper The Globe.
Refit is controlled by businessman Ricardo Magro, targeted by the PF (Federal Police) on May 15, in Operation Without Refining. According to data from the state government, released by The Globethe company owes R$14.3 billion in ICMS (Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services) to the State of Rio. Considering tax debts in the States of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, the group’s liabilities exceed R$30 billion.
At the same time, the acting governor of Rio, began negotiations to expropriate the area where the refinery is located. As the land belongs to the Union, the proposal depends on coordination with the federal government. Couto discussed the topic with the Minister of Justice, seeking support to make the operation viable. The value of a possible expropriation has not yet been defined.
Refit operates in the manufacture of petroleum derivatives and maintains activities linked to the production of biofuels, storage and rental of properties.
O Poder360 contacted Sefaz-RJ to obtain the full text of the act that resulted in the revocation of the company’s state registration and also contacted Refit to request a position on the measures adopted by the state government and the statement from the Public Prosecutor’s Office. At the time of publication of this report there were no responses. The text will be updated if there is a response.
MP-RJ DEFENDS CONVERSION INTO BANKRUPTCY
On Monday (May 26, 2026), the MP-RJ (Public Ministry of the State of Rio de Janeiro) manifestation to the Court defending the analysis of the conversion of Refit’s judicial recovery into bankruptcy.
O The document was prepared by Gaesf (Specialized Action Group for the Defense of Integrity and Suppression of Tax Evasion). According to the agency, after almost 10 years of judicial recovery, the company was unable to promote its economic and financial restructuring, an objective set out in the legislation.
The MP-RJ said that the refinery’s tax liabilities increased from around R$5 billion to R$25.7 billion during the judicial recovery period, which would demonstrate the ineffectiveness of the process.
The statement also states that the company maintained recurring tax defaults. Data presented by tax bodies indicate that more than 80% of taxes due between 2022 and 2024 were no longer paid, behavior that, according to the MP, characterizes a persistent debtor.
The Gaesf also cites investigations conducted by control and criminal prosecution bodies that would indicate the existence of a business model based on tax evasion and structured fraud, including evidence of asset concealment and mechanisms designed to hinder the collection of taxes.
Another point highlighted by the body is the existence of signs of asset loss, with the removal of assets and resources from the company. The MP mentions frustrated attempts to block assets and court decisions that recognized the existence of an economic group actually associated with asset concealment.
Faced with this scenario, the Public Prosecutor’s Office requested that the PGR (Attorney General’s Office of the National Treasury) and the public prosecutor’s offices of the States of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Paraná comment on compliance with tax installments, the possible characterization of the company as a persistent debtor and the effectiveness of the asset blocking measures.
