Market News & Headlines >> JBS Shares Reeling From Bribery Scandal

Shares in Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS SA recovered some ground on Tuesday after plummeting by 31.3% on Monday following the passing of a Friday night deadline for the company to accept a deal to settle charges resulting from a massive bribery scheme involving its controlling shareholders.  

Brazilian prosecutors had earlier proposed the company pay a fine of 11.2 billion reais ($3.4 billion) as part of a settlement of the charges. Prosecutors said on Monday they had resumed talks with JBS’s holding company to decide on the size of the fine to be paid. Shares of JBS stock rose 9.5% to finish at 6.55 reais in Tuesday trade on Brazil’s BM&F Bovespa stock exchange. The value of a share of JBS stock was still down more than 40% from its May 15 close at 10.97 reais. 

JBS executives told prosecutors they made millions of dollars of illegal payments to Brazilian President Michel Temer, his predecessors, Dilma Rousseff and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as well as a host of other politicians. Hours of video testimony released on Friday by Brazil’s Supreme Court and published in local media showed JBS chairman Joesley Batista and Chief Executive Officer Wesley Batista detailing for prosecutors how they paid a total of $123 million in bribes to the country's politicians over recent years, including at least $2.2 million to Temer.

President Temer has denied any wrongdoing in office and has said he will not resign. Mr. da Silva's lawyer has also denied any wrongdoing on the former president's part.