A Brazilian court on Tuesday authorized brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista to return to management positions at companies controlled by J&F Holding, the parent firm of meat processor JBS S.A., according to a statement by Brazil’s highest appeals court.
The decision authorized Joesley Batista to go back to work, and the Superior Court of Justice said later that the decision would also be extended to Wesley, the former chief executive officer of JBS.
Judge Rogerio Schietti Cruz said the Batistas have been complying with their leniency deal signed in 2017 with federal prosecutors, and have implemented a strict compliance system at J&F’s companies, restructuring the team.
J&F signed a BRL10.3 billion leniency deal in May 2017 to settle charges related to participation of company’s executives in a corruption scheme involving payment of bribes to politicians, revealed in a plea agreement signed by brothers Joesley and Welsey Batista. The brothers have also faced charges of insider trading.
Batista’s lawyer requested the Superior Court of Justice revoke a prior court decision banning the executives from working in the companies, alleging that the brothers had already closed a leniency agreement and that their removal from J&F during the coronavirus crisis could severely affect the company, according to the court statement.
“An injustice that lasted two and a half years has been corrected. The court recognized the illegality of the situation, preventing the continuation of an unreasonable injunction,” said Joesley Batista’s lawyer, Pierpaolo Bottini, in a separate statement.