Grupo BTG Pactual, the Brazil investment bank whose billionaire founder Andre Esteves was arrested in November in a corruption scandal, said a four-month review found no evidence to support the allegations. A special committee of directors and outside counsel “found no basis to conclude that the allegations of misconduct and corruption against Esteves, BTG Pactual... Continue Reading →

Executives from Brazil's second-largest engineering company, Andrade Gutierrez, have testified that President Dilma Rousseff's 2014 reelection campaign was partly funded with kickbacks from large infrastructure projects, a newspaper reported on Thursday. The testimony, part of a plea bargain deal with 11 executives, would be the strongest link yet between the widening "Operation Car Wash" probe... Continue Reading →

The corporate deal-making boom last year was one for the record books. The harder part: Winning the blessing of emboldened antitrust officials in the Obama administration’s last year. U.S. enforcers have turned increasingly aggressive in their mission to protect competition between companies -- the latest example being the Justice Department’s expected move to block Halliburton Co.’s... Continue Reading →

With political turmoil engulfing much of Brazil’s leadership, a proposal for new presidential elections this year is beginning to gain traction. A Supreme Court Justice on Tuesday ruled that Vice President Michel Temer should face impeachment proceedings just like President Dilma Rousseff. Judge Marco Aurelio Mello said Lower House chief Eduardo Cunha had overstepped his... Continue Reading →

U.S. antitrust officials have prepared a lawsuit to stop Halliburton Co. from taking over rival oil-services company Baker Hughes Inc., according to a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department plans to file the lawsuit seeking to block the deal as soon as this week, claiming it violates antitrust laws by eliminating competition between... Continue Reading →