J&F U.S. bribery case

On October 14, 2020, J&F Investimentos pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn to conspiring to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Its admitted scheme ran from 2005 through 2017. J&F agreed to a $256.5 million criminal penalty; U.S. authorities allowed credit of up to half that amount for qualifying payments under the Brazilian resolution.1–3

J&F admitted promising or paying more than $148 million for Brazilian officials’ benefit to obtain BNDES financing, more than $4.6 million for a Petros pension-fund executive’s benefit to secure merger approval, and approximately $25 million to a senior legislative official to obtain Caixa financing. The scheme used New York bank accounts and included a Manhattan apartment transferred as a bribe.

J&F Investimentos

Corporate guilty plea, October 14, 20201

J&F Investimentos is a Brazilian holding company controlled by Wesley and Joesley Batista. It entered a corporate leniency agreement with Brazil’s Federal Prosecution Office on June 5, 2017, agreeing to pay 8 billion reais and contribute 2.3 billion reais to social projects over 25 years, with the amounts subject to inflation adjustments. Pilgrim’s Pride’s 2024 filing says the total fine was later reduced to 3.5 billion reais and that Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court suspended J&F’s obligation to make additional installment payments in December 2023 while considering a petition alleging possible enforcement-authority misconduct in making the agreement. The filing says the agreement otherwise remained in effect.1–10

On October 14, 2020, J&F Investimentos pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn to conspiring to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Its admitted scheme ran from 2005 through 2017. J&F agreed to a $256.5 million criminal penalty; U.S. authorities allowed credit of up to half that amount for qualifying payments under the Brazilian resolution.1

If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

18 U.S.C. § 371 — conspiracy; charged object: FCPA, 15 U.S.C. § 78dd-3 · Applicable to the October 14, 2020 corporate guilty plea2–3

Documented connections

J&F Investimentos →Corporate guilty plea, October 14, 20201

Trump’s Beef Import Plan: The Batista Brothers, Bribery Cases and a $5 Million Donation →Included in report1–3

Sources and documents
  1. DOJ: J&F guilty plea, October 14, 2020
  2. 18 U.S.C. § 371 — full governing conspiracy passage
  3. J&F criminal information, filed October 14, 2020
  4. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/802481/000080248124000024/ppc-20240401.htm
  5. https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/brazil/2017/06/1889328-owner-of-jbs-receives-discount-in-agreement-with-attorney-generals-office.shtml
  6. Reuters: J&F Brazilian leniency agreement, May 31, 2017
  7. J&F: financial terms of leniency agreement, May 31, 2017
  8. https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2020/34-90170.pdf
  9. SEC enforcement announcement, October 14, 2020
  10. U.S. Code: 15 U.S.C. 78m

AI generated report by Explorvia.com.