After rejecting agreement on Mariana (MG), AGU asks to block R$ 79.6 billion from Samarco, Vale and BHP

The Union asked the Federal Court this Tuesday (7) to force Samarco and its partners (Vale and BHP) to pay R$ 79.6 billion, within 15 days, in provisional compliance with a sentence relating to a lawsuit filed over the breach dam in Mariana (MG), which occurred almost nine years ago, according to a document seen by Reuters.

The measure was taken days after the Union and the State of Espírito Santo rejected a new proposed agreement made by the mining companies for R$127 billion, with R$37 billion already disbursed, while the State of Minas Gerais requested adjustments.

An initial agreement was signed in 2016, creating a basis for implementing reparations, but it did not set a global volume of resources and left several steps to be completed, being criticized by several parties. Those involved have been negotiating for a final agreement, but without success so far.

“It is time for the State and Brazilian society to receive a concrete response, as it is no longer possible to wait,” said the AGU in an excerpt of the request to the Court.

In its new request, the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) asked the Federal Court of Belo Horizonte that, if the amount of R$ 79.6 billion is not deposited in court within the deadline, the Court orders the blocking of financial assets of the companies.

Furthermore, if this is still not enough, it requests other restrictions such as seizure of shares listed on the stock exchange, blocking of real estate, blocking of the distribution of profits and dividends to shareholders and seizure of 5% of revenue.

The AGU explained in a note that the petition was presented as part of a public civil action proposed by the Federal Public Ministry, in which the companies were already sentenced in January to pay R$47.6 billion in collective moral damages — an amount that, updated, reaches the figure now claimed by the AGU, according to the body.

“The provisional execution of the title is urgent, as the environment and the people affected are urgently required to be repaired and those causing the damage cannot remain in a comfortable situation, acting in a way that delays processes and accountability for the effects of their actions” , added the AGU to the order.

The collapse of the Samarco dam, a joint venture between Vale and the BHP group, occurred in November 2015, releasing a giant wave of mud that left 19 people dead, hundreds of people homeless, reaching the Doce River along its entire length to the sea. Espírito Santo, in addition to countless other impacts.

On Friday, the Secretary of State for Planning and Management of Minas Gerais, Luísa Barreto, told Reuters that the State would file a petition with the Court asking that negotiations for a reparation agreement for the dam collapse in Mariana continue.

Barreto pointed out that the last proposal needed adjustments, but that it should not be discarded completely.

(By Marta Nogueira)

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