About POSCO Fraud Watch

POSCO Fraud Watch is maintained by the International Association of POSCO Creditors (IAPC-POSCO), chaired by the attorney Frederico Costa. The Association is one of the interested parties in the case — it brings together individuals and companies who have not received payments owed by POSCO Engenharia e Construção do Brasil. For transparency, this site openly declares that affiliation: it is not a neutral press outlet, but a dossier organized by the Association, compiling third-party reporting and public documents about the case.

The International Association of POSCO Creditors is an entity created by individuals and companies who have not received payments owed by POSCO Engenharia e Construção do Brasil — the Brazilian subsidiary of the South Korean steelmaking group POSCO. To understand why it exists, it helps to know the context that led to its creation.

POSCO Brasil was incorporated in 2011 for a specific purpose: to build the Companhia Siderúrgica do Pecém (CSP), a project inaugurated in 2016 at the Pecém Industrial and Port Complex in São Gonçalo do Amarante, Ceará. During construction, the company contracted many local suppliers and workers. According to those contractors, many were not paid for the services rendered, and the Brazilian operation also accumulated labor and tax debts.

In September 2025, POSCO Brasil filed for self-bankruptcy, claiming an "insurmountable crisis" — meaning it could no longer honor its commitments. In the bankruptcy filing, the company presented very limited assets: a plot of land valued at around R$ 1.1 million, a depreciated car and minimal funds in its accounts. Debts, according to creditors, could exceed R$ 1 billion.

A key part of this strategy is targeting the group's parent company. It is stated that the court decisions currently rendered in the proceedings against POSCO in Brazil open the way for creditors to seek redress directly from the Korean parent company, which holds assets in several countries. This is relevant because the Brazilian subsidiary alone has little equity — while the POSCO group, in South Korea, is a large conglomerate.

The Association's central goal is to collectively protect and defend the creditors' interests. Acting in an organized way, they gain greater legal strength and operational capacity than they would individually.

The Association's central goal is to collectively protect and defend the creditors' interests. Acting in an organized way, they gain greater legal strength and operational capacity than they would individually.

This legal argument has recently gained backing. In two decisions (one in an individual creditor's lawsuit and another within the bankruptcy case), the Ceará courts ruled that POSCO Engineering & Construction Co. (the parent company) must answer for the liabilities of its Brazilian subsidiary, finding that the Brazilian operation worked with "commingling of assets" with the parent, characterizing abusive use of the corporate form. One of these decisions also reached POSCO Holdings INC, the parent company of the entire POSCO business group. In practice, this means the "shield" that normally separates a subsidiary from its parent may be pierced soon.

This is a case still pending in court, and POSCO Brasil contests the fraud accusations. Developments may change as the proceedings advance. This site follows and organizes those updates, always citing sources.