April 21 (Reuters) – Banco de Brasilia (BRB) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Quadra Capital to create an investment fund aimed at transferring assets linked to transactions BRB received from Banco Master, with a reference value of 15 billion reais ($2.9 billion).
The agreement will help BRB divest the assets in order to strengthen its capital structure and liquidity, according to the MoU, which was released late on Monday.
Between 3 billion and 4 billion reais are expected to be paid in cash, while the remainder would be converted into subordinated shares of the investment fund to be created to manage and monetize the assets, the document said.
On April 16, Brazilian federal police arrested former BRB chief executive Paulo Henrique Costa on suspicion of negotiating the receipt of 146 million reais in bribes in a criminal scheme to benefit Banco Master.
The arrest is part of the fourth phase of Operation Zero Compliance, which began in November last year with an investigation involving Banco Master and its owner Daniel Vorcaro, who is currently in custody.
Banco Master was liquidated by Brazil’s central bank in the same month. At the time, Costa was removed from his post at BRB by court order. Costa’s lawyer Cleber Lopes has said the defense remains firm in its belief that his client did not commit any crime.
Completion of the transaction between BRB and Quadra Capital is subject to conditions set out in the memorandum being met, the document added.
(Reporting by Tiago Brandao; writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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