Brazilian JBS execs face additional allegations

The brothers who started JBS USA continue to face problems in a government bribery scandal in Brazil, this time being accused of leveraging the scandal to gain advantage in the financial markets, according to an Associated Press story published in the Greeley Tribune.

Officials on Wednesday arrested Wesley Batista. His brother, Joesley Batista, has been in custody since he turned himself in Sunday following questions about his plea testimony in an ongoing corruption case, the story said.

Brazilian officials claim that the brothers may have withheld information when they negotiated plea deals to avoid serving jail time. The government also claims that the brothers used the circumstances and the resulting depressed share prices to their advantage.

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Joesley Batista, the former head of JBS SA in Brazil, which is the parent company of Greeley-based JBS USA, earlier this year revealed he had paid millions to President Michel Temer and his predecessors, Dilma Rousseff and Luiz Ina cio Lula da Silva, according to the report.

Police investigator Victor Hugo Rodrigues Alves said the Batistas, while negotiating their plea bargains, made large purchases of dollars on the futures markets.

There are no accusations of wrongdoing at the Greeley JBS operations.