Brazilian meatpacker owner pleads guilty in US to huge bribe scheme

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — An owner of the world’s largest meatpackers has pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to paying nearly $150 million in bribes for over a decade to high-level government officials in Brazil. Sao Paulo-based J&F Investimentos made the plea in a federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday. As part of the settlement agreement, it must pay fines of $256 million to U.S. and Brazilian authorities. J&F’s legal counsel told the court that bribes paid between 2005 and 2017 helped secure J&F funding from the Brazilian government that was used in part to purchase assets in the U.S. J&F employs more than 250,000 people in 190 countries.