Targeted by Federal Police investigations for possible involvement in the Banco Master scandal, businessman Nelson Tanure is once again increasing his influence at the construction company Gafisa.
This Friday, January 23rd, the company announced, in a material fact statement, that Wotan Realty, an investment vehicle associated with Tanure, now holds 3,608,986 common shares of Gafisa, representing a 14.72% stake. In practice, the company doubled its presence in the company. Until then, the shareholder held 7.4% of Gafisa.
Officially, Wotan's partners are José Gomez Fernandez, Rb 53 Participações, and Wotan LLP. Both companies are represented by Hortência Ferreira Fernandez. Wotan's headquarters are in Rio de Janeiro, and it has a share capital of R$ 40.4 million.
Fernandez is a partner in other companies related to Tanure, such as Milos Participações, which received R$ 10 million in loans from Empresa Metropolitana de Águas e Energia (Emae) shortly after the company was acquired by the Phoenix Fund, which is also linked to the businessman.
Tanure's relationship with Wotan has been the subject of an investigation by the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) for some time. According to the prosecutors' findings, Gafisa did not inform the market that Wotan was a related party to Tanure.
In 2022, Esh Capital, one of Gafisa's minority shareholders, notified the construction company about possible irregularities regarding Wotan's business dealings with Gafisa.
At the time, the asset manager even released an open letter to the market informing them that it had filed legal measures to protect shareholders from a possible suspicious transaction within Gafisa's shareholding structure.
In February 2024, the construction company released, through its investor relations channel, a document from Esh listing a series of problems in Tanure's relationship with the company and the suspension, according to the asset manager, of all vehicles that make up Gafisa's shareholding structure and that, in some way, have a connection with the businessman.
“In the first days of December 2022, Esh Theta filed and obtained judicial approval for a precautionary measure to suspend the conversion of debentures issued in favor of Wotan, based on proof that this company was nothing more than a front company for Nelson Tanure, and that the properties sold to Gafisa were toxic assets,” the asset manager says in the document.
Due to the controversy, the asset manager began to reduce its stake in Gafisa. In April 2024, a relevant fact disclosed that Esh held 4.04% of the shares, five times less than the 20% it once held in the construction company.
Tanure was the target of Operation Compliance Zero, launched on January 14th, which resulted in the seizure of the businessman's cell phone. As a result, he became the subject of a more thorough investigation into his possible connection to the network associated with banker Daniel Vorcaro, founder of Banco Master.
Tanure was already a target of the Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), along with Master, for an alleged scheme to inflate the share prices of Ambipar, a company currently undergoing judicial reorganization, by 800%.
The mega-investor also has transactions associated with funds managed by MAM Asset, the asset manager of Vorcaro's fund. Tanure is also accused of using insider information at Gafisa in 2019, during the acquisition of Upcon by the construction and real estate company.
On January 19th, Supreme Court Justice Dias Toffoli ordered the freezing of Tanure's assets as part of investigations into possible fraud associated with Banco Master. In his decision, the judge cited that the Federal Police identified Tanure as a 'hidden partner' of Banco Master.
Over the past 12 months, Gafisa's shares on the B3 stock exchange have depreciated by 84.6%. On January 23, 2025, the stock was worth R$ 26.08. Around 11:25 am this Friday, the 23rd, the stock was being traded at R$ 4. The company is valued at R$ 90.4 million.
When contacted, Gafisa stated that it would not comment on the matter. NeoFeed also contacted Tanure's legal team, but they did not respond before publication.
