A Brazilian court in the Minas Gerais state has accepted state prosecutor criminal charges against Vale’s former CEO, Fabio Schvartsman, and 15 other people including Vale and TUV SUD executives. TUV SUD was company attesting the safety of the failing Brumadinho dam.
The Vale executives and former CEO Schvartsman were charged with qualified homicide, environmental crime, among other charges. The judge’s decision means the prosecutors’ criminal charges can now move to the local court.
At the same time the Minas Gerais state court accepted the criminal charge request, the judge also dismissed several people from the case, including Vale’s former ferrous and coal director, Gerd Peter Poppinga, at the request of Minas Gerais prosecutors.
According to a court document obtained by SteelOrbis, all Vale executives charged have 10 days to appoint their lawyers. The judge denied a request from prosecutors to prevent Schvartsman and other Vale executives from leaving the country.