Overview
- Federal judge Renato Coelho Borelli denied two emergency requests from Refit, refusing to unblock the Manguinhos distillation tower and to disqualify ANP directors from the administrative case.
- The rulings, published on December 3, also removed secrecy from the court files, with the judge citing no evidence of irregularities at ANP and emphasizing judicial restraint in technical matters.
- ANP inspections had identified storage irregularities, measurement failures, and technical inconsistencies; 10 of 11 units were later released after conditions, but the key distillation tower remains closed.
- Separately, subprosecutor Lucas Furtado of the MPTCU asked the TCU to remove ANP director Daniel Maia over a possible conflict of interest and to revoke his secondment from the court of accounts.
- The request cites Maia’s presence at a Refit-sponsored event in New York tied to owner Ricardo Magro, which he says was ANP-funded and unrelated, as federal police and tax authorities pursue a megaoperation alleging multi‑billion‑real frauds and debts over R$ 26 billion.