JBS Owner Joesley Batista Arrested Again in Corruption Probe

Investigation into illegal campaign financing has 18 arrests
Joesley had been released from jail in March after 6 months

Joesley Batista, former president and chief executive officer of J&F Investimentos SA, listens during a congressional inquiry hearing at the National Congress building in Brasilia, Brazil, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. The securities regulator opened an investigation on October 26 accusing brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista for insider trading and market manipulation. JBS SA, Joesley and Wesley have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.Photographer: Andre Coelho/Bloomberg

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By Julia Leite and Gerson Freitas Jr.

November 9, 2018 at 11:00 AM UTC

Updated on

November 9, 2018 at 12:39 PM UTC

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Joesley Batista, the meat tycoon at the center of a scandal that almost toppled the Brazilian government last year, was detained by police amid a probe linked to the sprawling Carwash investigation.

Police were serving 18 arrest warrants and another 56 search and seizures on an illegal campaign financing scheme and corruption of high-ranking members of the Agriculture Ministry between 2014 and 2015, according to a statement from Brazil’s tax agency. The probe is centered in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, but warrants are also being carried out in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Paraiba and Mato Grosso states.