Wesley Batista, the chief executive officer and co-owner of JBS, has been detained by Brazil’s federal police on charges of insider trading. The arrest was made in conjunction with an investigation of suspected insider trading by both Wesley and his brother Joesley, prior to a plea deal they had arranged in May for their involvement in political bribes.
Earlier this week Joesley turned himself into federal authorities in Brazil when an order for his arrest was made by the Supreme Court. Joesley is accused of withholding information from prosecutors and taking advantage of them during the peal deal negotiations. These are charges he has denied.
The arrests of the brothers has been confirmed by JBS and the brother’s lawyer Pierpaolo Bottini. A statement has not been released by JBS, but Bottini has called the arrests “unjust, absurd and regrettable.” Trades were allegedly made by the Batista brothers prior to their
plea deal. Following the announcement of the plea deal there was the
largest selloff on Brazil’s stock exchange in more than a decade.
Reuters reports
from a source who was asking to stay anonymous, that investigators
suspect the brothers gained an unfair advantage in trading shares of
JBS. During April and May the Batistas were aiding the company in
building an abnormal position through trades in currency futures and
forwards.
Both brothers had resigned from positions on the JBS board of directors following their admission to bribery of politicians in the plea deal...
more
No comments:
Post a Comment