Post by Chloe Sorvino

I’ve been hot on the trail covering JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, for many years, and my feature out this morning is really the culmination of nearly a decade of reporting. (Read it here: https://lnkd.in/ew6jV-xb) As the Brazil-based JBS prepares to list on the New York Stock Exchange by June, I’ve taken a moment to put the recent news—that, ahead of JBS’ Securities and Exchange Commission approval, JBS subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride gave $5 million to the Trump Administration’s Inauguration Fund as the campaign’s single largest donor—into context. My story details how the billionaire brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista, who own the parent company of JBS, were personally charged with foreign corruption in the U.S. as well as insider trading allegations in Brazil (related to the timing of the news of their extensive bribery scheme) that saw them briefly jailed for about six months from 2017 to 2018. Despite all that, they both are slated to remain directors on the board of JBS once the meat conglomerate starts trading in the U.S. In my book Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat, there’s a full play-by-play of how their bribes went down and so many even more wild instances of corruption—including three different bribes to three of Brazil’s presidents, according to Joesley Batista’s testimony to Brazilian investigators. (Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gUxm3ce9) As for today’s Forbes story, it also includes details from a Freedom of Information Act request that I got back a few months ago. In the letter, which was sent to then-SEC chairman Gary Gensler in 2023, representatives of the Parakanã people in Brazil allege that JBS illegally exploited the Apyterewa Indigenous Territory in the Amazon rainforest by buying cattle raised on cleared acres (which JBS denies). They asked for the NYSE listing to be blocked. As community leader Wenatoa writes: “Our people suffer daily threats from invaders, and JBS is an accomplice in this invasion…We will not be silent as long as our lands, culture and dignity continue to be harmed by irresponsible business practices like this.” I’ll be watching this NYSE listing closely, so expect more from me on JBS soon. And there's much more in today's edition of my newsletter at Forbes, Fresh Take, including a MEET THE FOUNDER feature all about Ibraheem Basir, whose brand A Dozen Cousins announced this morning that it is getting acquired. Lots more inside!