Brazil Bank Says Its Probe of Ex-CEO Finds No Basis to Corruption Claims
April 07 2016 - 11:30AM
Dow Jones News
SÃ O PAULO—Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual said Thursday
that an internal investigation found "no basis to conclude" that
allegations of misconduct and corruption against its former chief
executive officer André Esteves were "credible, accurate or
supported by reliable evidence."
Mr. Esteves resigned as chairman and CEO of BTG last November,
days after he was arrested as part of an investigation into alleged
corruption at state-controlled oil company Petró leo Brasileiro
SA.
Prosecutors allege that Mr. Esteves and a Brazilian senator
tried to obstruct justice by attempting to convince a suspect in
the corruption case not to agree to a plea bargain.
Mr. Esteves has denied the allegations through his attorney. He
was released to house arrest in December but had to turn over his
passport and was prohibited from entering BTG Pactual premises or
having any dealings related to it.
Mr. Esteves's arrest prompted many clients to pull money from
investment funds managed by the bank, which has said it has been
been forced to sell assets and significantly shrink its operations
as a consequence.
BTG in December created a special committee, comprising two
independent directors and one nonindependent director, to
investigate the various allegations against the bank's former chief
executive and controlling partner.
BTG said that the Brazilian arm of global accounting and
consulting firm KPMG LLP collected electronic and hard-copy
documents from more than 50 BTG employees.
Approximately 430,000 documents were reviewed by lawyers from
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, and the Veirano law firm
as well, the bank said.
Write to Luciana Magalhaes at Luciana.Magalhaes@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 07, 2016 11:15 ET (15:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Petroleo Brasileiro ADR (NYSE:PBR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Petroleo Brasileiro ADR (NYSE:PBR)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024