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By Ricardo Brito
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian federal prosecutors charged former executives of retailer Americanas with fraud, a source in the prosecutors' office told Reuters on Monday, while local media reported former CEO Miguel Gutierrez was among those targeted.
Americanas had in early 2023 revealed accounting inconsistencies that led the company to file for bankruptcy, and later said it had been impacted by fraudulent activities from its former management.
Brazil's federal prosecutors' office did not immediately respond to a request for comments outside normal business hours.
The charges were reported by local newspaper O Globo earlier in the day.
O Globo said the prosecutors pointed Gutierrez as the main responsible party, while also presenting fraud charges against other 12 people, including former top executives Anna Saicali, Jose Timotheo de Barros and Marcio Cruz Meirelles.
Timotheo de Barros' lawyer said he would demonstrate the accusation was rushed and lacked impartiality.
Representatives for Saicali and Gutierrez declined to comment. A representative for Cruz did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.
Americanas began arbitration against the four former executives earlier this year.
Last October, Brazil's securities regulator CVM accused them, along with other managers, of insider trading.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia; Additional reporting and writing by Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Editing by Chris Reese, Sarah Morland and Jamie Freed)
