By Ricardo Brito and Bernardo Caram
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Pedro Guimaraes, the chief executive of Brazilian state lender Caixa Economica Federal and a close ally of President Jair Bolsonaro, is set to resign on Wednesday in light of reports he is being investigated by federal prosecutors for sexual harassment, two sources familiar with the matter said.
News website Metropoles reported late on Tuesday that the probe in question was launched after a group of Caixa’s employees complained about alleged episodes of sexual harassment.
Guimaraes is set to be replaced by Daniella Marques, an Economy Ministry official, a separate source told Reuters.
Guimaraes had been Caixa’s top executive since January 2019, when Bolsonaro took office. He had appeared several times in his weekly social media live streams, and power brokers in Brasilia had considered him a potential running mate for Bolsonaro, who is up for re-election in October.
Guimaraes, who holds a PhD in economics from the University of Rochester, had previously worked at investment bank BTG Pactual and at lender Brasil Plural, where he was a partner.
His imminent departure was first reported by news magazine Veja.
Neither Caixa nor the office of Bolsonaro immediately responded to requests for comment on Wednesday. It was not immediately possible to contact Guimaraes directly.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Bernardo Caram in Brasilia; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
