Eldorado case: accused of partiality, arbitrator waives the process
In a long letter, attorney Anderson Schereiber defended himself against the accusations made by J&F, but asked to drop the case

On Saturday, August 14th, the attorney Anderson Schereiber resigned from the arbitration process involving J&F Investimentos and Paper Excellence in charge of Eldorado Celulose. Accused by J&F of bias, Schereiber wrote a 40-page letter sent to the ICC International Court of Arbitration defending the allegations but asked to drop the case.
Anderson allegedly failed to mention to the arbitral tribunal that he physically worked in the same office as Stocche Forbes, who was a lawyer for the Paper Excellence, and would also have worked on cases together with the firm. J&F, the Batista brothers’ holding, lost control of the pulp manufacturer in an arbitration court case and, in an attempt to annul the decision in court, began to question the arbitrator’s partiality.
In the long letter, Schereiber raises doubts about the fact that J&F only asked questions after asking for the case, despite having other opportunities. He also says that the use of the same floor in an office building consisted only of lease agreements made between the bank that worked at the time and another bank that preceded the Stocche Forbes partnership. The leases would have ended two years before he became arbitrator in the case. Anderson also claims he has never worked on cases with the firm.
Although the arbitrator’s resignation does not mean a change in the arbitration award, the attitude left the market in an uproar, as it may influence the Judiciary that analyzes the imbroglio to annul the decision. At the moment, the arbitration decision is suspended by decision of the Court of Justice of São Paulo and the case may continue to drag on for years.
Paper Excellence has more than BRL 7 billion deposited in an account to complete the deal it closed with J&F, without, however, managing to take over Eldorado. The case has already involved several controversies and ended up with the police after exchanges of accusations of espionage and hacking.