BTG Founder Esteves Acquitted in Brazil Witness Tampering

  • Judge says there’s no ‘valid proof’ against the banker
  • Esteves was briefly jailed in 2015 due to obstruction charges

Andre Esteves.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Andre Esteves, the founder of investment bank Banco BTG Pactual, was cleared by a Brazil federal judge of charges he participated in a corruption scheme, which had led to his arrest in 2015.

Judge Ricardo Leite acquitted the banker on Thursday, saying there was no “valid proof” for a conviction, according to a court document. In September, prosecutor Ivan Claudio Marx had recommended that the charges be dropped.