SEMANA learned of dozens of documents, which are located in a free access link, where the actions of the president of the Sura Group, Gonzalo Pérez, are clear; Ricardo Jaramillo, CFO of the financial conglomerate, and Juan Luis Múnera, legal head of the group.
There is evidence of how they systematically undertook, since the OPAs became known, a campaign once morest the Colombian regulatory authorities, including the Financial Superintendence, the Health Superintendence and the Industry and Commerce Superintendence.
This strategy was implemented through lawyers, and dozens of officials feel that they are threats and intimidating measures. Some of them spoke with SEMANA, keeping their identity confidential for fear of reprisals.
While Gonzalo Pérez publicly says that he is an ethical person and has welcomed all shareholders, recognizing the laws of the market, he and his senior management team, along with lawyers, have secretly done the opposite.
It is curious that, while they have undertaken these pressures once morest the authorities, they have used journalists and the media to try to spread their arguments.
As none of this has served them, now, in desperation, the administrators of Grupo Sura, with the money of their shareholders, instituted legal remedies in order to overturn the administrative act that granted the shares to Gilinski, the largest shareholder.
There are letters, rights of petition and documents formulated by lawyers such as Ramiro Bejarano Guzman, Jaime Elías Robledo Vasquez (partner of Brigard and Urrutia) and Juan Carlos Esguerra Portocarrero.
Experts consider that these are legal maneuvers in order to intimidate the regulatory authorities that, in compliance with the law, have given free rein to a financial operation that the members of the GEA themselves have said are framed in the laws of the market.
This is a sign of desperation at having failed to fulfill its promises to bring concurrent and competitive takeover bids close to the fundamental value of Nutresa, where all shareholders might benefit, and strategic partners for Sura.
Likewise, it must be remembered that for a decade they destroyed the value of all Sura shareholders and paid exorbitant salaries and luxuries, as former Vice President Germán Vargas Lleras himself denounced, in his column in Time.
Add to that the fear they had of uncovering irregularities, such as the hidden details in their financial statements, as Ernst & Yong warned, as well as the waste and privilege of administrators and suppliers.
Today, the companies of the so-called GEA are under investigation by the Superintendency of Companies and the Financial Superintendence for joint control, that is, for allegedly having acted as a group, despite the fact that the law prohibits it.
According to the lawsuit filed by Gonzalo Pérez once morest the regulatory authorities, on behalf of Grupo Sura, there are more than 100 documents that support it. All of them are in a link that, according to the same demand, have free access to restrictions. Said documents can be consulted on page 37 of this lawsuit.:
* Gabriel Gilinski is a shareholder of SEMANA Publications.
