Rio 2016 Backer Arrested on Corruption Charges

(ATR) Eike Batista, once Brazil’s richest man and a donor for the Rio 2016 Olympic bid, has been jailed as part of the ever-growing corruption investigation in Brazil.

Batista was arrested upon his return to Rio on Jan. 30. An arrest warrant for the business magnate had been issued last week but Batista had traveled to New York using his German passport, reportedly to evade arrest. Batista voluntarily returned to Brazil, leading to his apprehension. He is currently detained in Rio’s Bangu prison.

Rio-based political scientist Mauricio Santoro and Sao Paulo lawyer Claudio Schefer tell Around the Rings they both believe Batista could take a plea deal uncovering more corruption in the last Olympic city.

Batista helped fund the Rio 2016 Olympic bid through monetary contributions and lending his private plane so the bid team could travel to the 2009 IOC Session in Copenhagen. According to media reports he donated up to a quarter of the budget for the 2016 bid. Batista is charged with paying millions of dollars in bribes to former Rio de Janeiro governor Sergio Cabral in exchange for benefits including lucrative construction contracts.

Cabral has already been arrested for taking bribes, some of which were linked to the renovation of the Maracana for the 2014 World Cup. Cabral was one of the main actors in the Rio 2016 Olympic bid, and part of the presentation in Copenhagen.

Unlike works for the FIFA World Cup, the Rio 2016 Olympics have had no defined links to corrupt practices. In addition to charges against Cabral, allegations have been made against former Rio mayor Eduardo Paes over illicit campaign donations. Those allegations said Paes received kickbacks from Petrobras executives in order for the company to receive sought after government contracts.

By 2010 Batista was considered the richest man in Brazil, having amassed a business empire in the mining, oil, gas, logistics, energy and naval industries. Due to falling commodity prices, Batista largely lost most of his fortune, according to local media, and had been in the public spotlight selling a brand of toothpaste called Elysium.

"Eike Batista became the richest man in Brazil and had close relations with politicians from various parties," Santoro said to ATR. "This would probably lead to new charges against various politicians."

Santoro added that if any Olympic projects were connected to Batista they would come from redevelopment projects in the city and his political connections.

On top of a defined connection with Cabral, Schefer says that Batista was close with previous Presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff. Lula is recognized with having prioritized sports as part of his Worker’s Party government, culminating in bringing the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games to Brazil.

"I think Eike Batista knows a lot," Schefer, said to ATR. "I think he will talk a lot because he does not have a college degree and will remain with ordinary prisoners in the Bangu penitentiary. He arrived yes, had his head shaved, and was taken to a penitentiary that is 30 degrees Celsius at night. Imagine this for someone who was considered the richest man in Brazil and, in 2012, the seventh richest in the world by Forbes magazine."

Written by Aaron Bauer

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