A Brazilian court in the state of Minas Gerais has denied an injunction filed by Nippon Steel, a major shareholder at local flats producer Usiminas, to annul a lawsuit against former Usiminas CEO, Romel de Souza.
Sergio Leite, Usiminas’ current CEO, replaced Nippon Steel-supported executive, Romel de Souza, in March this year, who in turn replaced Leite in October 2016.
Earlier this year, the board of Usiminas filed a lawsuit against de Souza, who reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Usiminas’ mining arm, MUSA, in which it sought a loss compensation deal.
The document was signed in May 2016, and raised discussion among board members at a recent board meeting, since some of them argued the signing of the document was "irregular."
As the Brazilian court has denied Nippon Steel’s injunction, the lawsuit will proceed.