Joesley
 
SÃO PAULO, Brazil – Former JBS S.A. chairman, Joesley Batista, was released from a prison in São Paulo, Brazil, after six months. His older brother, Wesley Batista, was released in February.

In September 2017, Joesley Batista surrendered to legal authorities after the Brazilian Supreme Court approved a warrant for his arrest on charges of insider trading and concealing information from federal prosecutors in violation of a previously negotiated plea agreement.

Federal prosecutors allege that Joesley and Wesley Batista authorized the sale of millions of JBS shares weeks before submitting evidence of bribes paid to nearly 2,000 Brazilian officials, knowing that the disclosures would cause the company’s share price to fall. The revelations sparked a sell-off on the Brazilian stock exchange, and trading was suspended temporarily. The Batistas later repurchased the shares at a significantly lower price, prosecutors allege.

Police arrested Wesley Batista, CEO of JBS S.A., last year on charges of insider trading. He was released in February after a vote by the Superior Justice Court in Brasilia, Brazil. Under court order, he cannot leave Brazil and he is barred from running any of his family’s companies which includes J&F Investimentos and JBS S.A.