Brazil Bank Says Its Probe of Ex-CEO Finds No Basis to Corruption Claims

SÃ O PAULO—Brazilian investment bank BTG Pactual said Thursday that an internal investigation found "no basis to conclude" that allegations of misconduct and corruption against its former chief executive officer André Esteves were "credible, accurate or supported by reliable evidence."

Mr. Esteves resigned as chairman and CEO of BTG last November, days after he was arrested as part of an investigation into alleged corruption at state-controlled oil company Petró leo Brasileiro SA.

Prosecutors allege that Mr. Esteves and a Brazilian senator tried to obstruct justice by attempting to convince a suspect in the corruption case not to agree to a plea bargain.

Mr. Esteves has denied the allegations through his attorney. He was released to house arrest in December but had to turn over his passport and was prohibited from entering BTG Pactual premises or having any dealings related to it.

Mr. Esteves's arrest prompted many clients to pull money from investment funds managed by the bank, which has said it has been been forced to sell assets and significantly shrink its operations as a consequence.

BTG in December created a special committee, comprising two independent directors and one nonindependent director, to investigate the various allegations against the bank's former chief executive and controlling partner.

BTG said that the Brazilian arm of global accounting and consulting firm KPMG LLP collected electronic and hard-copy documents from more than 50 BTG employees.

Approximately 430,000 documents were reviewed by lawyers from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, and the Veirano law firm as well, the bank said.

Write to Luciana Magalhaes at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 07, 2016 11:15 ET (15:15 GMT)

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