Batista brothers in jail

Reuters reported last week that Brazil’s federal police on Wednesday detained the chief executive of JBS SA, Wesley Batista, the world’s top meatpacker, saying he used insider information to avoid hefty losses related to a plea bargain he signed earlier this year (http://tinyurl.com/ya8jn6rz). He was detained under an arrest warrant against him and his younger brother Joesley for suspected insider trading. The billionaires, both in their mid-40s, control 42 percent of JBS. Their lawyer, Pierpaolo Bottini, called the allegations and the arrest “unjust, absurd, and regrettable.” If convicted, the Batistas may be the first people in Brazil jailed for insider trading. Joesley Batista has been under arrest since Sept. 3 after recordings suggested he tried to take advantage of prosecutors and conceal details during negotiations that led to the plea deal. He has denied any wrongdoing. JBS (JBSS3.SA) shares rose 1.7 percent, reversing early losses, on optimism that Wesley’s arrest will accelerate a search by the company to replace him as CEO. The accusations could hurt a plea deal that both brothers signed in May in relation to a three-year graft probe that has shocked Brazil’s political and business establishment.