Overview
- Federal police launched Operação Sem Refino on May 15, alleging large-scale tax fraud, asset concealment and money laundering tied to Refit and its owner Ricardo Magro, and secured court orders to freeze roughly R$52 billion in assets.
- The Rio de Janeiro interim governor decided to pursue expropriation of the Manguinhos refinery site so the state can apply the property's value against the company’s alleged debts instead of paying cash compensation.
- The state tax office’s Corregedoria opened disciplinary probes into auditors for suspected improper access, favoritism and manipulation of fiscal data that may have benefited Refit, following leads from the federal operation.
- Inea has formed an eight-member task force with a 30-day mandate to review all environmental licenses granted to Refit, and regulators are examining past approvals that may have ignored technical warnings about soil contamination.
- Refit denies wrongdoing and says tax disputes are in court; the case threatens refinery operations, could reduce public revenue losses if expropriation and license cancellations stand, and has drawn interest in the site from Petrobras as a possible buyer.