Brazilian businessman Eike Batista convicted of corruption
Updated 2:15 pm CDT, Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Photo: Felipe Dana, AP
FILE- In this Nov. 18, 2014, file photo, former billionaire Eike Batista, a Brazilian tycoon once named No. 7 on Forbes' list of the world's richest people, attends his hearing at a federal criminal court in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Batista as convicted on Monday, July 2, 2018 of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to 30 years.
SAO PAULO (AP) — A Brazilian businessman famous for amassing and then losing a multi-billion-dollar fortune has been convicted of corruption and money laundering and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Eike Batista was found guilty of paying around $16.5 million in bribes to the then-Rio de Janeiro governor to gain an advantage in government contracts. Ex-Gov. Sergio Cabral was also convicted — one of several corruption cases against Cabral, who is already in prison.
A federal judge in Rio de Janeiro signed the decision on Monday but it did not become widely known until Tuesday. Fernando Martins, a lawyer for Batista, complained the case against his client was vague and said that he would appeal, according to Brazilian media. The court said he will not begin serving his sentence while the appeal is pending. A lawyer for Cabral also said he would appeal.
The case is part an investigation into the laundering and hiding of about $100 million in foreign bank accounts. Prosecutors allege that nearly $80 million of that belonged to Cabral. The probe is one branch of Brazil's massive Car Wash investigation into the systematic trading of bribes and illegal campaign contributions to politicians in exchange for favors for companies.
More:
https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Brazilian-businessman-Eike-Batista-convicted-of-13046974.php
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