|
In a
statement, prosecutors in five different corruption probes said
the holding company owned by the Batista family will pay the
leniency fine over 25 years, starting in December. Prosecutors
said it was the largest ever such fine worldwide.
J&F was able to reduce the final value by 900 million reais from
the initial 11.2 billion reais proposed by Brazilian
prosecutors. J&F's three previous proposals were rejected and
the company replaced its lawyers earlier on Tuesday.
State witness testimony from J&F's owners Joesley and Wesley
Batista that they spent 600 million reais to bribe nearly 1,900
politicians in recent years threw Brazil in a political crisis
that threatens to topple president Michel Temer.
Joesley Batista is at the center of a corruption investigation
of Temer, after secretly recording a conversation in which the
president seemed to condone bribing a potential witness. Temer
denies wrongdoing.
Most of the fine, or 8 billion reais, will be divided among
Brazil's development bank BNDES, FGTS workers' severance fund,
two pension funds for employees of state-controlled companies
and lender Caixa Econômica Federal.
Pension funds and state-run banks invested in or extended loans
to J&F companies in return for bribes paid by the Batista
brothers, according to plea-deal testimony.
Prosecutors said in the statement the fine is equivalent to 5.6
percent of the group companies´ revenue. Investors in JBS shares
have been closely watching the plea negotiations.
JBS shares have slid more than 25 percent this month in
extremely turbulent trading because of concern that blowback
from the scandal could limit its funding options.
($1 = 3.2570 reais)
(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
