SAO PAULO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The brothers whose deft dealmaking helped build JBS SA into the world's No. 1 meat processor are testing that talent like never before as they seek a leniency deal with prosecutors after admitting to paying millions of dollars in bribes to Brazilian politicians.
JBS and its controlling shareholder J&F Investimentos, a sprawling conglomerate led by billionaires Joesley and Wesley Batista, are pressuring prosecutors to accept what would likely be the most lenient of all the plea deals negotiated during a three-year old corruption investigation that has implicated scores of Brazilian politicians and executives.