Reuters: Brazilian appeals court authorizes Batista brothers to go back to JBS parent J&F

Brazilian appeals court authorizes Batista brothers to go back to JBS parent J&F

FILE PHOTO: Brazil’s billionaire businessman Joesley Batista is pictured at the Brasilia international airport, after giving testimony in Brasilia, Brazil, September 7, 2017. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian appeals court STJ on Tuesday authorized the return of billionaire brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista to managing positions in companies controlled by meatpacker JBS SA’s (JBSS3.SA) parent company, J&F Holding.

In a court decision, Judge Rogerio Schietti said it no longer made sense to bar Joesley and Wesley from positions in the companies in which they are controlling shareholders.

The court first issued a decision allowing Joesley to come back to the companies and later extended its authorization to brother Wesley Batista, the former chief executive of meatpacker JBS SA (JBSS3.SA).

Lawyer Pierpaolo Bottini said the decisions are effective immediately.

Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia; Editing by Leslie Adler; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Franklin Paul and Matthew Lewis