The largest meatpacker in the world is getting ready to go public despite a history of bribery and corruption among its shareholders.

After decades of cross-party opposition in the Securities and Exchange Commission and Beef and Congress, JBS, the world's largest meat packer, finally received the green light listed on the New York Stock Exchange at the end of April.

The US list of JBS residents living in Brazil has delayed several times the illegal campaign for Brazilian meat inspections and more than 1,800 people, with over 1,800 campaigns being flooded with scandals involving top shares and its holding companies in Brazilian politicians this is in addition to US allegations of price fixing, Ronemani siphoning, violations of the children's work laws, and discrimination and harassment allegations.

Joesley and Wesley Batista (53 and 52) are the company's largest shareholders through the holding company J&F Investimentos. The brothers, each worth US$ .8 billion, were personally accused of in the US and Brazil (to the age of their bribery news), which were briefly locked up between 2017 and 2018.

Each of these topics has the prospect of most other companies going to the stock exchanges in the US market, but according to a recent decision by the SEC, JBS hopes to offer stocks to the New York Stock Exchange in June once the shareholder elements are completed later this month.

"It looks like the real thing this time," says Carlos Lavoy, managing director who leads Latin American food reports, including JBS for HSBC, who is not involved in the list.

Over the past 20 years, the Batista brothers have transformed their family's South American meat business with more than US$77 billion in annual sales that exist in almost every country in the world. Most important US brands include Swift, Pilgrim's Pride, Primo, Blue Ribbon, and Certified Angus Beef. Considering Scandal Mountain, American politicians have long been opposed to companies going to American stock exchanges. Last year, 15 senators had potential exchanges, including Republican Josh Hawley of Missouri and John Barrasso of Wyoming, Democrat Corey Booker of New Jersey, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

The former Foreign Minister of Florida has been one of JBS's biggest critics for many years. In 2019, Rubio applied for a Ministry of Finance investigation into the acquisition of JBS. In 2021, he updated that question and expanded it to about 250 meat and agribusiness companies that belonged to Batista Family Holdings Company J&F Investimentos. The finance department declined to comment.

But when Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, Batista's assets changed. JBS's long SEC permit came just two days after it was announced in a public registration with the Federal Election Commission that Trump's biggest donor is the pride of JBS chicken processor Pilgrim. Trump's US$5 million inauguration donation was five times the checks from Amazon, Meta, Uber, Nvidia, and Microsoft, giving US$1 million each.

A JBS spokesman fought over the relationship with the timing of the donation. “We have no control over when the Opening Committee contributions were made public, and the JBS list has been underway for about two years.

Additionally, the spokeswoman merely confirmed that "several executives attended inaugural events," refusing to reveal the names of the executives there. Regarding whether JBS, Pilgrim's Pride, or any affiliates made contributions to the Trump Administration's transition fund from the previous summer, the representative chose not to comment.

In addition to SEC approval, there have been other changes to federal politics, JBS, and Batista, in the administration's decision to end the laws on enforcement of laws on foreign corruption practices, especially in President Trump's first 100 days.

This law, dating back to 1977, prohibits citizens and foreigners, and US companies (including subsidiaries of foreign companies) acting in the United States from bribery officials abroad. Previously, JBS's mother company J&F led Investimentos in the context of a US$128 million agreement worth $128 million, in which J&F is guilty of corruption.

J&F has paid nearly USD 27 million for allegations of foreign corruption in the SEC in 2020. At the same time, Batistas, a Brazilian citizen, paid the SEC $550,000 each, including civil penalties. A JBS spokesman said the Trump administration's decision "has not changed any of the obligations included in the J&F settlement, which are fully complied with."

It is difficult for JBS to prove opposing experts in court regarding the links on the list of Trump's launch and donations and donations, and Washington's campaign funding and national ethics lawyers, i.e.

"The Justice Department would have to prove that there was an agreement that government officials would do certain things in exchange for the contribution if there were a prosecution," asserts Kappel. "The Justice Department could demonstrate through circumstantial evidence that the two things were connected," he continues. We rely on jurors to make those conclusions using common sense in our legal system.

Any quid pro quo is rejected by JBS. The spokesperson states, "Pilgrim's Pride, a food company based in the United States, was happy to support the 2025 inauguration ceremony." "We look forward to working with the Administration to create opportunities for American farmers and provide safe, affordable food for American families. We have a long history of bipartisan participation in the civic process."

Jose Batista Sobrinho, the company's namesake, started chopping up oxen and selling the meat to neighbours in the Anapolis, a rural area of Central Brazil, when he was just 19 years old. This led to the founding of JBS in 1953. When Brazilian beef began to gain popularity in the 1970s, Joesley and Wesley were born into the family business.

The brothers left high school to work full-time for JBS, a significant Brazilian meatpacker at the time that was then owned and operated by their older brother, Jose Batista. However, Jose quit JBS in 2005 to pursue a failed political career, and Joesley and Wesley, who were then in their thirties, took over.

They published JBS in 2007 in São Paulo's Brazilian valuation of $800 million. Shortly after Batista was released, they sought to take over the business by bringing JBS abroad.

Batistas was willing to buy their way, according to the 2020 Securities and Exchange Commission case and the denial of oversight. (BNDES, which became JBS's second largest shareholder, denied the charges of corruption and bribery, citing an independent test from the time, where no evidence was found. The Brazilian Supreme Court also refused to pay JBS in connection with bribery. )

Batistas, who targeted America's second-largest chicken processor in 2009 after Pilgrim Pride went bankrupt in Texas, was considered a bargain. In the first 6 % of the company, JBS, spent USD 800 million. The transaction was valued at US$2.8 billion, and BNDES funding was $2 billion. According to the indictment against J&F, Jeeseley Batista Bribery was in a US bank account for BNDE's finance minister, for over $55 million.

JBS has finally secured US$5 billion in equity and BNDE debt funding in several US deals, including pilgrims. In total, Batistas and J&F agreed to more than three dozen Brazilian businesses by the 2017 cooperation agreement with the Brazilian government. DOJ and SEC have found signs of a set-off of approximately USD 150 million.

In the case of SEC 2020 against JBS in SEC 2020, we have revealed the pilgrim pride. Batistas eventually accumulated 80% participation. In the middle of a comprehensive national corruption investigation, he filmed Brazilian President Michel Temer in 2017. And these and other unrelated bribery cases were made public to Brazilian meat inspectors and the public, so their attempts to list US JBS were delayed.

"There were years there," says John Baumgarten, managing director of Mazuho Group, a food company that includes JBS. "They had to take a few steps back."

In addition to the widespread bribery scheme, JBS also faced allegations of environmental damage. In particular, they deliberately purchased cows raised on farms created by Amazon deforestation. A JBS spokesman denies the company "is deeply committed to zero-supply forest deforestation and is actively investing in sustainable agricultural practices. Working with suppliers to promote responsible land use and reduce the common environmental footprint."

However, representatives of Brazilian Parakana nationals allege that JBS illegally used the indigenous territory of Apiterewa in the rainforest by purchasing hectares for free.

According to a letter sent to the second Chair, Gary Gensler, in 2023, the list was obtained by Forbes through a request under the Freedom of Information Act. that. "After the Public List is approved, JBS will be given access to US investors, pensions, and stock indexes.

The stock price is expected to start. This will result in HSBCS Laboy estimating that JBS will double. Say. "As more surveillance of market leaders increases regulatory pressure on bad behavior in the broader industry."

In either case, Batista is not going anywhere. As soon as JBS is listed, family holding companies J&F and JBSPartaçless, which have almost 50% of JBS's largest shareholders, will receive the opportunity to convert regular stocks and increase Batistas' voting power to 90%. Although JBS refused to express Batista's long-term plan, the move ensures that the family will be involved in the coming years.

Based on this family management, Laboy said, "We believe that a strong independent voice of the board is essential. The board will be forced to leave the board under Jawsley and Wesley Batista, which the NYSE when they were arrested in 2017.

They were expelled for many years from leadership roles, but after Brazilian judges ordered them, they returned to management at J&F in 2020, and 202 2 Both were re-elected to the JBS Board of Directors. "A strong board with independent members of undeniable integrity is best suited for all JBS shareholders,".