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Santander abolished plans to appoint Brazilian executives as chief accountants about four months after being investigated by police for alleged fraud while working for Brazil’s biggest bank.
Alexsandro Broedel Lopes joined Santander in October and was scheduled to become the group’s Chief Accounting Officer for the next few months.
However, in a memo to senior managers on Wednesday seen in the Financial Times, the bank said Manuel Preto, the deputy chief executive of the Portuguese business, will assume the role of top accounting at the end of July.
The decision to drop Brodel’s appointment comes after FT revealed in February that it was under criminal investigation in Sao Paulo on suspicion of misappropriation of funds while working for Total Asset, Brazil’s largest bank.
Santander gave no reason to appoint Plech in place of Brodel. Those who were explained to the issue said Brodel remained an employee of Santander.
Itaú accused former chief financial officer Broedel of sucking up funds from the bank through an arrangement with an external consultant he hired on behalf of the lender. Prosecutors in Sao Paulo have determined that police investigations of senior officials were necessary to “determine the facts,” the FT reported earlier.
Santander’s board of directors agreed that he was appointed as Brodel’s group chief accounting officer last June before the allegations became clear.
Brodel had received necessary approvals from regulators to take up senior mail in Santander, the bank previously said. This includes passing the “appropriate and appropriate” tests for senior European Central Bank executives.
After the criminal investigation into Brodel was first released, Santander said Brodel was “a highly regarded senior executive scheduled to take over as CAO later this year.” He added that it is “development oversight.”
Brodel has not been charged with a crime and the results of the police investigation are yet to be known.
A spokesman for Santander and Brodel declined to comment on Wednesday’s note.
Brodel’s representative previously described the allegations against him as “baseless and meaningless,” adding that he has always been ethical and transparent in all his activities in Itau (12 years).
