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Nelson Sequeiros Rodriguez Tanure (NT) was born on November 21 st 1951. He is married to Patricia Maria Queiroz Sequeiros NT, born on March 23 rd 1957, and has three daughters and one son – Priscila de Queiroz Sequeiros NT, born on April 19 th 1979, Isabela de Queiroz Sequeiros NT, born on April 16 th 1982, Nelson de Queiroz Sequeiros NT, born on May 28 th 1985 and Cecilia de Queiroz Sequeiros NT, born on July 6 th 1987.

NT has lived most of his adult life in Rio , and now resides in the fashionable borough of Gavea at the following address.

NT spent most of his formative years in Bahia . He maintains strong political and commercial ties with the State. NT is fluent in French and English and has a reputation for being well read. He is said to be a devout Catholic. A recent press article reports that he is a keen student of theology. He is said to have taken a sabatical during which he studied Christaian history and philosophy at the University of Columbia in New York. In a recent press interview he maintains that he plans to give up his commercial life for the pursuit of such studes in the near future.

According to press reports, NT obtained a Masters degree in Business Adminstration. He maintains a low profile, gives very few interviews and has a reputation for being shy, maintaining a close circle of friends and family.

Corporate filings related to these companies have been obtained from the Rio Notary Office. These documents will analysed and reported subsequently.

Source intelligence indicates that during the fiscal year of 2002, NT (tax payer ID 122.792.185-34), declared the following assets:

Apartment # 202 at 65, Araucaria St. , Rio de Janeiro , acquired in the name of his daughter Priscila NT , on June 5 th 2001 . This apartment had an estimated market value in 2002 of R$ 255,000.

Apartment # 201 at 60, Estrada da Gávea, Rio de Janeiro. This apartment had an estimated market value in 2002 of R$ 985,696.45.

Jeep Cherokee Sport, year 99, model XIJ, license LNC-0196, acquired on the name of his daughter Isabela NT , on April 4 th 2000 (estimated 2002, of R$ 40,000).

• Profits of R$500,000 from the sale of real state at 200, Estrada Carangola, Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro, according to an agreement of sale signed October 11 th , 1996

900,000 shares of Sequip Participações S/A. These shares had a declared market value in 2002 of R$ 0,01. Also a further 100,000 shares of Sequip Participações S/A on the name of his wife

77,000 ordinary shares of Editora J.B. S/A. These shares had a declared market value in 2002 of R$ 77,000.

68,750 shares of Strategic Investments Ltda. These shares had a declared market value in 2002 of R$ 68,750.

657 shares of Carangola Imobiliaria Ltda. These shares had a declared market value in 2002 of R$ 657.00.

Investments under wife and son's name, at BBA Investimentos DTVM S/A (tax no. 33.311.713/000125). These credits were booked with the value of R$ 940,364.95.

3,780,283,781 ordinary shares of Docas Investimentos S/A. These shares had a declared market value in 2002 of R$ 1,632,084.00.

An overdraft of R$ 12,533.15 at Unibanco bank account 213371-6, branch 0548.

Loan of US$ 360,000 from BBA Creditanstalt Bank Ltd, agreed on February 21 st , 2003 and booked with a value of R$ 1,404,023.33.

Promissory Note of US$ 239,600 to Prime Equities Ltd and booked with a value of R$ 881,656.12.

NT's first major commercial venture was his acquisition in the late 1970's of Sequip, a company which supplied upstream oil equipment. During the 1980's he purchased an electricity turbine manufacturer called SADE. His involvement with this company attracted controvercy when reports emerged that during the Collor government, he was attracted investment from the state pension funds as a direct result of his personal friendship with the then Minister of Economy, Zélia Cardoso de Mello. NT maintains that he was owed R$20mn by the state and only received R$9 from the funds, who were already shareholders in SADE. Other sources indicate that the investment was closer to US$ 11mn. Petros alone is alleged to have invested US$ 2.4 million. This has not been verified.

One well made the following comments on the affair. “If I am not mistaken she (Cardoso) pressured the pension funds to buy a minority share of one of NT's companies (SADE). After this I heard that NT lent Zélia his country home in Petropolis so she could meet Bernardo Cabral who was her boyfriend at the time, and also that he paid her bills at the Brasilia Tennis Academy ”.

During the 1990's, NT invested in a shipyard company called Verolme Ishibras IVI, located in Macae, in the State of Rio . At the time Verolme acted as the sole contractor of Petrobras responsible for building oil platforms. The company subsequently suffered a down-turn in the face of competition from Maritima, which from 1995 started to absorb many of the Petrobras contracts.

In early 1997, amid bankruptcy procedures and several related problems, Verolme was leased to Maritima for a period of eight years for approximately one hundred and eighty thousand dollars per month. According to sources, this lease agreement was obtained because of the direct influence of Mr. Joel Reno, President of Petrobras and the steel union leaders, who had interests in the shipyard. Together with the lease, Maritima obtained one of its first major contracts with Petrobras, valued at US$500 million at the time.

NT blamed the failure of Verolme on an overall down turn in the industry and the rise of Asiann shipyards. In an interview he stated that he decided to sell the company when he realised that promises of help from the government were '…pure illusion'.

In 2002 NT entered a lawsuit against Veja magazine, alleging defamation and injury in an article published released in 24 th October 2001. The article, entitled “O Baú do Lobista” (The lobbyist's box) alleged that among other material collected during a Federal Police raid of the offices of Alexandre Paes Santos, a famous lobbyist located in Brasilia, was an agenda containing information about NT and his businesses and contacts, including his use of Brazilian pension funds to speed up deals. It also alleged that he had played on the junk bonds market using inside information from the Central Bank and that he was a partner at Banco Fator, through a front-man called João Maia.

In December 3 rd , 2003 Judge Francisco Eduardo Loureiro rejected the criminal action bought by NT, who claimed one million Reais from each journalist. NT appeal in December 20 th , 2003.

Years later, in 2001 when Gazeta Mercantil started to show signs of financial distress, NT's name surfaced again, allegedly entering into an alliance with Luiz Fernando Levy and giving Levy R$ 2.5 million in exchange for a share in the newspaper. Senior management and staff who worked at the paper feared that he would take an active role in the paper's management and repeat what he had done a short time before after his acquisition of Jornal do Brasil, firing all the employees and then re-hiring many as independent contractors at lower rates of pay and without any labor benefits. At this point Gazeta Mercantil owed a fortune in back salaries and, since 1994 had not deposited employee pension fund. In September 2002 a group of Gazeta Mercantil editors set up an association - the Gazeta Mercantil Employee, Service Provider and Creditor Association - which was joined by almost everyone in the newsroom.

Well placed sources maintain that shortly after Levy received R$ 2.5mn from NT at the end of 2001, Levy rescinded the contract, accusing NT of breach of contract. The money was not returned. At the time there were reports that the money was for a partnership to sell joint advertising with NT's Jornal do Brasil, although this has never been confirmed.

Between the end of 2001 and early 2002 Worldinvest consultant Sergio Thompson Flores claims to also have invested R$ 5 million in Gazeta Mercantil. The consultant had been hired to restructure the newspaper.

Sources maintain that NT then purchased an outstanding loan that Levy had with Bank of America in early 2002. NT is a friend of Ian Dembrugas, at the time the President of the BofA and a neighbor of NT at his beach house in Angra dos Reis. It is said that he paid US$ 5 million for the BofA papers. Informed Gazeta Mercantil sources claim that the debt amounted to some US$ 30 million. NT's move infuriated Levy who used his influence to publish an article in Istoé Dinheiro, claiming that he would sue the BofA.

Rumors within the publishing industry in São Paulo and Rio claimed that NT would not rest until he avenged what Levy had done to him. Levy inflicted a double blow; NT's stated ambition to establish himself as a media mogul (for which Gazeta Mercantil was essential) was frustrated and he was publicly made to look a fool.

Although the Levy/NT agreement never went through, in January 2003 the Employee Association filed a class action suit asking that Gazeta Mercantil's assets be seized to ensure payment of salaries and other labor debt.

The labor debt was increasing and the paper was literally chocking to death. Levy tried to enter into partnerships to sell part of Gazeta Mercantil, at which time Levy and NT reopened their discussions. In April 2003 they announced publicly that they were again negotiating the sale of Gazeta Mercantil. Initially the two cut a deal in which NT acquired control of Gazeta Mercantil commercial department. He immediately implemented a restructuring of the department, firing former Levy collaborators and hiring people he trusted. He also reneged on an agreement to lease subscription revenue to a company called Prisma, resulting in litigation.

NT's acquisition of partial control of GZM prompted widespread concern in the Sao Paulo business community. Important members of the business community feared that, having Gazeta Mercantil in the hands of an 'adventurer' meant they would lose an important communication channel.

While Levy and NT continued negotiations, GZM employees threatened to strike for back pay and filed a Labor Suit demanding immediate payment of back pay. With mounting pressure from employees, NT attempted to court the unions by appearing at one of many hearings at the Ministry of Labor, despite the fact that at the time he had only taken over the commercial department.

At NT's request the hearing was held in Brasilia , in the offices of then minister Jacques Wagner (PT) between the Minister, NT and representatives of the Gazeta Mercantil Employee Association and the Journalist's Union . At this meeting NT made an unequivocal promise to pay all of the newspaper's labor debt without condition.

A very well informed source maintains that at the meeting Minister Martins apparently asked a question that suggested that the GZM employee's lawyer was representing NT in a related case. Soon after the employees retained the services of Machado, Meyer, Sendacz and Opice.

At this time, former employees who had been fired from the newspaper in January 2003, filed numerous actions at the Superior Labor Court and the Sao Paulo Regional Labor Courts (TRT). Around May 2003 NT approached the main representatives of the GZM Employee Association to find out how much was owed in labor debt.

The first meeting was held at the home of one of the participants. NT came with Wellington Pinho, who he introduced as his partner. He said he was willing to negotiate the payment of all labor debt. Several times he reiterated that he wanted to preserve the newspaper and its intellectual capital. He asked for a breakdown of the debt and said he would propose some sort of negotiation.

Two weeks later NT contacted this same group and set up another meeting. He proposed payment in 5 years, excluding unpaid pension contributions. The proposal included no monetary correction. NT also said that he wanted to negotiate separately with current and former employees. The proposition was not well received.

A few days later NT again asked for a meeting with the group together with Almir Pazzianotto, who NT presented as his legal representative and negotiator. A meeting was held at Pazzianotto's offices but he claimed that NT had not yet retained him officially. Wellington Pinho and another lawyer called Daniel Bahar were also present at the meeting as representatives of NT.

Pazzianotto made it clear that he had no signed agreement with NT and he was present at the meeting merely to get an idea of what was going on. Apparently, when he was a judge some years previously Pazzianotto ruled a GZM strike illegal, resulting in the sacking of 400 staff. His presence at the meeting without any serious role was seen as a clear and intimidating message from NT. There was no further contact with Pazzianotto.

NT proposed that employees all sign letters of resignation, and be re-hired at a lower salary and as independent contractors - exactly what he did at Jornal do Brasil.

Shortly after this, the Union called a strike, which the labor courts ruled legal. In addition, the Courts ordered that the revenues and assets of Gazeta Mercantil, Jornal do Brasil, Levy and NT be seized. NT is said to have been shocked at the strength of feeling amongst staff and as a result had badly mis-handled the situation. With the favorable ruling of the TRT in São Paulo , newspaper employees refused to sign letters of resignation and started to protest in front of the newspaper.

Wellington Pinho had absolutely no patience with the negotiation process and said on more than one occasion that he was against NT's participation in Gazeta Mercantil. He considered the newspaper to be a bottomless pit and added that he would not allow one cent to be transferred from NT's holding company Docas to GZM.

Nothing concrete ever resulted from the negotiations between NT and employees to release the GZM brand. NT insisted on paying the debt, estimated at R$ 40 million, in five years, on excluding pension contributions and on paying employees first and former employees last.

Sérgio Thompson Flores, who presided Gazeta Mercantil when NT made his first attempt to gain control, left the paper under a cloud, having been accused by Levy of fraudulent management. He went to work for NT, who by this time had purchased the publishing rights to Forbes in Brazil . Sérgio became a Vice President of Jornal do Brasil and the President of Forbes. Flores left Forbes early this year, when US Forbes went to court as NT has stopped paying royalties for using the brand in Brazil .

A source claims that his Flores ' relationship with NT started to go down when NT tried to interfere in the editorial line at Forbes. The source commented 'For NT, whoever purchases advertising in his newspapers or magazines gets space in the news side. He (NT) horrified GZM employees when he told [them] that “friends” must get special treatment in the news, and “enemies” must be treated harshly. He made it clear to all those present that "friend" meant advertiser and "enemy" meant people who did not advertise'.

Months later he put this policy in practice at Gazeta Mercantil, when he insisted on publishing an editorial questioning the fact that Petrobras had used Organizações Globo as the vehicle for most of its five year publicity.

GZM staff were fired and rehired. Since January 2004 GZM has been paying current salaries, although November and December 2003 have not yet been paid. The last time NT met with Association representatives was in January, when he reiterated his proposal and said he was open to negotiating payment of the labor debt. The meeting was held at the offices of Jornal do Brasil in Rio between NT, Hélio Truckler and Daniel Bahar on the one hand and editorial staff on the other.

Sources at the meeting maintain that NT was really trying to transmit a message. He was furious because his name had appeared on an Internet site known as Comunique-se, and because the courts had seized his personal assets. He has appealed this decision and the Journalist's union has backed off.

According to sources, NT made a proposal to the CDF Bank to re-negotiate GZM labour debts by offering the bank advertising space. A couple of weeks later Ailton Trevisan (who had been Levy's attorney, then became NT's attorney and today is a Gazeta Mercantil Director) sent the newsroom an e-mail where he described a meeting with Joaquim Lima, the pension fund manager at Caixa Econômica.

In this e-mail Joaquim Lima explains his role in managing FGTS. Trevisan had allegedly asked Lima to describe his achievements so that the newspaper could publish an article on him. The e-mail went on to say that Trevisan had explained the idea of liquidating the labour debt liability in which the Caixa and other related bodies would use JB and GZM to publish their legal and commercial texts in exchange for debt reduction. Joaquim Lima allegedly responded positively, agreeing to and set up a meeting for shortly after Carnival. It is not known if this meeting ever took place. Since the Rio meeting in January, neither NT nor his representatives have approached employees or Association members.