Germán Efromovich

Germán Efromovich
Born	1950 La Paz, Bolivia
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, airline executive
Years active	1970s–present
Known for	Founder of Synergy Group; owner of Avianca and other airlines

Germán Efromovich (born 1950) is an entrepreneur originally from Bolivia who holds Brazilian, Colombian, and Polish nationalities. Coming from a Polish-Jewish background, his fortune is valued at approximately $1 billion.

Biography

Efromovich’s birthplace is La Paz, Bolivia, and he spent his formative years in both Chile and Brazil. He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brazil's FEI University. His early professional activities ranged from selling encyclopedias and dubbing Mexican films to operating a school where he taught Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who later became Brazil's President and a prominent union leader.

His initial business ventures were rooted in the oil industry, culminating in the establishment of Synergy Group. In 2004, he purchased Avianca, Colombia’s national airline, for $64 million plus an additional $220 million in assumed debt. Starting with nondestructive testing services for Petrobras, his enterprise broadened its scope to include construction and leasing of oil rigs, power generation facilities, shipyards, as well as production of medical equipment.

After encountering legal challenges related to the sinking of an oil rig, Efromovich shifted focus to aviation by acquiring two aircraft from a client lacking immediate payment capabilities. This acquisition led to the creation of OceanAir (rebranded as Avianca Brazil in 2010), initially dedicated to transporting personnel involved in oil exploration. In 2010, Avianca merged with TACA Airlines, forming AviancaTaca—Latin America's second-largest airline group by revenue—operating under Synergy Aerospace Corp., a subsidiary of Synergy Group headquartered in Bogotá.

Efromovich also holds stakes in Wayraperú and Avianca Ecuador, and previously owned OceanAir/Avianca Brasil. In recognition of his contributions, Colombia granted him honorary citizenship in 2005.

The Paradise Papers leak in 2017 exposed that Efromovich and Synergy Group utilized offshore companies based in Bermuda, Panama, and Cyprus to manage their aviation investments.

In August 2020, both Germán and his brother José were detained in São Paulo amid Operation Car Wash investigations for allegedly paying R$40 million in bribes from 2009 to 2013 to officials at Petrobras and Transpetro to secure contracts for their Estaleiro Ilha shipyard. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were placed under house arrest. Efromovich has consistently denied all accusations. Legal proceedings commenced in September 2020; their detention was lifted by November 2020 but with imposed restrictions on travel and financial transactions.

Currently, Efromovich serves as president of AeroItalia, a startup airline launched in Italy for 2022.

Family

Germán Efromovich is married to Hilda and they have three daughters together. He splits his residence between São Paulo and Bogotá. His younger brother José Efromovich—five years his junior—held the position of chairman at Avianca Brazil.

External links

• Ecopetrol interview with German Efromovich, May-June 2005
• Efromovich: Hardworking Visionary Latin Trade, 25 May 2011
• ECOPETROL: The Efromovich's challenge