JBS Businessman's Interview Contradicts Testimony He Gave Regarding Encounter with Temer

06/19/2017 - 12h19

In an interview given to magazine "Época", JBS businessman Joesley Batista made two statements that contradicted the testimony he gave to the PGR (Prosecutor General of the Republic) following his plea bargain deal.

In the interview, Mr. Batista stated that he met president Temer on a different date and presented a new version of the facts concerning his first encounters with former congressman Rodrigo Rocha Loures (PMDB-PR).

In an interview that was published on the "Época" website on Friday (the 16th), Mr. Batista said: "I met Temer through minister Wagner Rossi [PMDB], in 2009, 2010. On our second encounter he already gave me his cell phone number. We stayed in touch from that moment onward. I'd send him texts and vice-versa. From 2010 onward. I always spoke to him directly.

Mr. Batista offered a different story in a recorded testimony he gave to the PGR on April 7th, after signing a deal with investigators.

In his testimony, Mr. Batista stated that he only met Temer after the Dilma-Temer presidential ticket was elected (Temer had been elected vice-president).

Before his testimony, Mr. Batista had handed in an "attachment", or a preliminary version of his testimony, in which he had also stated that he met Temer just before he was sworn in.

Mr. Batista also contradicted himself concerning the timeline of events that marked his relationship with former congressman Rodrigo Loures - who was arrested in Brasília after he was handed a suitcase with R$ 500 thousand (US$ 150 thousand) from JBS. In his testimony, Mr. Batista stated that he wanted to find another intermediary between himself and the administration, and that the idea to approach Mr. Loures was his.

In the interview, however, Joesley inverted the order of events and omitted his initiative to contact the former congressman. He told the magazine that he had never formally met Mr. Loures, and that it was President Temer who mentioned the name of his former aide, Mr. Loures.

Through the public relations department at his company, FSB, Mr. Batista's press secretary stated on Sunday (the 18th) that the businessman "was introduced to Michel Temer through minister Wagner Rossi, sometime between 2010 and 2011, when the politician acted as vice-president". Temer only became vice-president in January of 2011.

The statement did not clarify when Mr. Batista and Mr. Temer's first encounter took place.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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	Danilo Verpa/Folhapress
	JBS businessman Joesley Batista