Brazilian Billionaire Batista Surrenders to Police in Corruption Scandal

Political corruption - Brazilian style

By Ed Adamczyk 

Brazilian billionaire Joesley Batista, enmeshed in a corruption scandal and late in submitting an audio tape to the Brazilian Supreme Court implicating Brazilian President Michel Temer, surrendered to Sao Paolo police on Sunday. Photo courtesy of Joesley Batrista/Facebook

Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Brazilian billionaire Joesley Batista, accused of hiding evidence in a plea bargain case, surrendered to police in Sao Paolo.

Batista, former chief of JBS, the world's largest meatpacking company, was to present a recording he secretly made of Brazilian President Michel Temer allegedly confirming that Temer paid bribes to influential Brazilian politicians. Batista said he would reveal information about the alleged corruption scheme in exchange for lenient judicial treatment, but has not yet handed over the audio tape; he was given until last week to surrender it, and was ordered arrested by the Brazilian Supreme Court. He surrendered on Sunday.

Under the plea bargain, Batista and his brother Wesley admitted to complicity in attempting to bribe nearly 1,900 Brazilian politicians over several years. The court decision to arrest Batista came after the federal chief prosecutor said that Batista and Ricardo Saud, and executive of J&F Investimentos SA, JBS' holding company, omitted information from submitted testimony earlier this year in which they confessed to graft and other crimes.

1900! One company buying 1900 politicians! Don't think for one minute this only happens in Brazil or even South America; it's everywhere.

The alleged omissions came to light last week, when an audio recording of a conversation between Batista and Saud was inadvertently sent to the prosecutor's office. While both men denied that false information was contained on the audio tape, their credibility as witnesses was weakened. The episode has become another part of a continuing scandal of graft and corruption enveloping Brazilian government and business leaders.

In the 4-hour tape, Saud can be heard telling Batista former prosecutor Marcello Miller was working to influence current chief prosecutor Rodrigo Jadot to offer Batista and Saud a more lenient plea deal. Miller resigned immediately after the tape was made; its release to the public, including a comment by Batista that he would never go to jail, enraged Brazilians already angered by the plea deal.

Batista's imprisonment will likely boost Temer's short-term popularity, Bloomberg News said Monday. Temer's allies in Brazil's lower house defeated a motion in July that would have forced him to temporarily resign the presidency and face a corruption trial; since then he has focused less on the corruption scandal and more on Brazil's economic problems.

Russian Anti-Corruption Boss Alleged to have €300mn in Swiss Banks, $120mn Cash at his Flat

One oligarch down, just a few thousand to go

If the anti-corruption boss can graft €400mn,

how much can a corrupt boss graft?

Acting head of the T Department of the Central Anti-Corruption Board (Guebipk) of the Russian Interior Ministry Dmitry Zakharchenko suspected of bribery at the Moscow Presnenksky Court where the investigators' motion on his arrest is examined. © Eugene Odinokov / Sputnik

About €300 million ($336 million) was found in Swiss bank accounts of the father of Russia’s anti-corruption agency head, media reports. The news comes days after police arrested Dmitry Zakharchenko and found over $122 million in cash at his Moscow home.

Law enforcement agencies found documents about the accounts of offshore firms registered in the name of Zakharchenko’s father Viktor, according to a source speaking to Rosbalt news agency.

“Six bank accounts like this were found mostly at Rothschild Bank and the Dresdner Bank, with each having between €45 million and €47 million. This is more than €300 million,” the source added.

The source described the amounts on the Swiss accounts as being “colossal,” while the authorities are trying to find out where the money came from.

“It’s clear that we are not only talking about money from Nota-Bank, as it was previously perceived,” the source mentioned.

Zakharchenko’s lawyer Yury Novikov said that his client did not know anything about the Swiss bank accounts.

“We have seen the press reports that the material well-being of my client is growing, but he does not know anything about the Swiss accounts. They have not asked to conduct any searches or investigations,” Novikov told RIA Novosti news agency.

Meanwhile, the internet portal Slon said that Zakharchenko owned four properties worth $10.7 million. It was discovered that one of the apartments, which cost $1.3 million, was used exclusively to hide money that he had accumulated.

Last week police conducted a raid on Zakharchenko’s flat and found over $122 million in cash, sources told Russian media. The acting head of Russia’s anti-corruption agency was subsequently detained.

The official was taken to court and, on Saturday, accused of abuse of power, obstruction of justice, and accepting bribes, a court spokesperson told RIA Novosti. His bail was set at $1 million.

Life.ru news portal released pictures of money allegedly belonging to Zakharchenko. The investigators reportedly had to find a box big enough to squeeze in all of the cash they had found. Sources, who spoke to TASS, said that the money found belonged to NOTA-Bank.