Senate approves Otto Lobo for presidency of the CVM with 19 votes in favor

Comissão of Assuntos Econômicos of Senado approved the appointment of Otto Lobo to preside over Comissão of Valores Mobiliários. Foram 19 votes in favor and 4 against. The decision took place this Wednesday, after a hearing that lasted hours and addressed questions about operations involving Banco Master.

Approval by the commission paves the way for analysis in the Casa plenary, where the nominee by president Lula must be put to a vote. The final result could be released today, according to the leadership’s schedule.

Otto Lobo faced questions about Banco Master

Durante the hearing, two senators concentrated criticism on the nominee. Eduardo Girão, from Novo, and Eduardo Braga, from MDB, asked questions about Lobo’s administrative decisions that could have benefited the financial institution. The tension reflected concerns about possible conflicts of interest.

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The most controversial case involved Ambipar, a company linked to the Master group. Quando acted as interim president of the CVM board, Otto Lobo vetoed a public takeover bid for the company, contrary to the opinion of the body’s technical area. Utilizou the deciding vote, which allowed him to double his position.

Investigações internal CVM officials indicated that the Master group, led by Daniel Vorcaro, had operated in collusion with Ambipar to artificially increase the value of the multinational’s shares on the market.

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Defesa of the nominee during the hearing

Otto Lobo refuted the accusations during interrogation. Argumentou that the decisions were based on technical and legal criteria, not on direct benefits to any institution. In relation to the Ambipar case specifically, he pointed out that the legal prohibition on public acquisition offers against non-controlling shareholders was unanimous among the board.

”There was no benefit to Banco Master because the law is very clear. The part of the decision on this point was unanimous” replied the nominee to the senators.

Lobo also rejected questions about businessman Joesley Batista’s support for his nomination. Disse was unaware of information about external supporters and reaffirmed that all of its administrative decisions followed technical rigor.

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Indication Trajetória on Senado

Lula forwarded the nominations for Otto Lobo and Igor Muniz just over four months ago, precisely on January 6th. Muniz was appointed to serve as director of the municipality. The Muniz vote resulted in 19 votes in favor and only 1 against, with approval already consolidated.

Três currently has vacancies on the CVM board, but Executivo has only formalized two nominations so far:

• Otto Lobo for the presidency
• Igor Muniz for director
• A vacancy remains unrecommended

Próximas steps into the plenary

Approval by the specialized committee represents an intermediate stage. The federal Senado plenary must vote on the name of Otto Lobo according to the deliberations agenda. Caso also approved in the plenary vote, the nominee will take command of the capital market regulatory institution.

The speed of voting surprised market observers. Aprovações in the commission and in the plenary on the same day makes it easier for the new president to begin executive activities at the CVM. The institution is awaiting definitions regarding the third vacancy for director, whose nomination has not yet been forwarded by Palácio of Planalto.