, Columnist
The Brazilian Banking Blowup
Arrest of prominent executive underscores economic woes.
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The arrest of Brazilian billionaire Andre Esteves in a corruption scandal has produced a double whammy: immediate pain for investors and longer-term financial angst for the country, and perhaps the world.
Esteves, the most prominent figure in Brazilian finance, who transformed BTG Pactual into the largest independent investment bank in Latin America, stands accused of seeking to pay off a former Petrobras director (who’s currently in jail) to leave him out of any court testimony in an investigation involving a pay-to-play scheme at the state-run oil giant. The inquiry has reached into the top echelons of power.