The Public Ministry of São Paulo (MPSP) denounced this Thursday (5) to court seven people linked to a corruption scheme involving businessmen and former tax auditors who worked at the Secretariat of Finance and Planning of São Paulo. Among those reported, the MP reported, are tax auditors, as well as an accounting director and the owner and founder of the Ultrafarma pharmacy chain, Sidney Oliveira.
Those reported were investigated in Operation Ícaro, launched in August last year. In action, were arrested Sidney Oliveira and the statutory director of the Fast Shop group, Mario Otávio Gomes. They were released days later.
According to prosecutors João Ricupero, Roberto Bodini, Murilo Perez and Igor Bedone, who signed the complaint, active and passive corruption crimes occurred between 2021 and 2025. According to them, the owner of Ultrafarma was aware of the acts of corruption, “which caused significant damage to public coffers”.
At the time, the tax auditors who worked at the Finance Department – and who have now been denounced – would have requested advantages to benefit Ultrafarma in procedures for reimbursement of credits from the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS). In return, the company’s representatives would have offered illicit payments to the auditors so that they could facilitate and accelerate the release of these tax credits, in addition to inflating the amounts reimbursed.
According to prosecutors, this scheme may have generated more than R$327 million in undue compensation for the company.
After the operation began, the secretariat reported having revoked the changes that had been made in 2022 in an ordinance that regulated the procedures for supplementing and reimbursing the ICMS retained by Tax Replacement (ICMS-ST) and a decree that provided for the accelerated appropriation procedure.
To date, there has been no statement from Ultrafarma. Sidney Oliveira’s lawyer was not located by the newspaper report. Brazil Agency to comment on the case.
The secretariat, in turn, reported that the irregularities “relate to procedures initiated in previous administrations and that, since 2023, the current administration has been adopting measures to strengthen the control and transparency of ICMS reimbursement processes”. According to the secretariat, a broad inspection operation was launched “to review more than 3,400 credit launches”.
“The Tax Inspection Inspectorate initiated 33 administrative procedures, which resulted in removals and dismissals, whenever irregularities were identified. Currently, a specific working group reviews all requests related to ongoing investigations, in coordination with the control bodies, to ensure the correct application of public resources and curb illegal practices”, informs the secretariat, in a note.
