It was not a good day for one of Brazil’s largest companies.
After a week of crippling corruption revelations, the world’s largest meatpacking company JBS SA tanked more than 30% in Brazil’s stock market Monday. It’s the stock’s worst drop ever in a single day.
JBS is at the center of the latest political corruption probe that was triggered last week.
In leaked testimony first published by a Brazilian newspaper, company execs told investigators they recorded conversations of President Michel Temer allegedly approving hush money. The recordings also allegedly reveal Temer approving bribes to pay off a prosecutor. Brazil’s Supreme Court authorized an investigation into the allegations against Temer.
Brazilian investigators also announced new probes into potential insider trading by JBS executives, separate from its face off against Temer in the bribery case.
Authorities are looking into suspicious trades made by the company’s owners shortly before JBS announced a plea bargain to resolve a previous bribery allegation.
After the revelations from the company about the president, Brazil’s stock market tanked 10% last Thursday leading to a temporary trading halt. Its currency, the real, tanked more than 7% Thursday too. It was down again Monday.
Temer is refusing to resign, saying the claims by JBS’ leaders are false. He’s asked authorities to investigate whether the recordings were edited.
JBS was embroiled in a separate scandal earlier this year when investigators unveiled millions in bribes it had given to food inspectors to approve spoiled meat being shipped to other countries. Many importers of Brazilian beef, such as the European Union and China, temporarily halted shipments from Brazil to varying degrees.
The company apologized for bribing the food inspectors, but denied the insider trading allegations.
