It has been alleged that the duo saved as much as $44 million when they sold their shares in JBS, ahead of bribery allegations being made public.
These charges could place the plea bargain the brothers signed earlier this year in jeopardy. If found guilty of these insider trading charges, they could be the first people in the country to be jailed for this offence.
Wesley Batista was arrested by Brazilian police on 13 September, while Joesley had been in police custody since 10 September.
Another Batista regains JBS leadership
The Batistas’ lawyer said the allegations were “unjust, absurd and regrettable”.
In the wake of these fresh troubles, the JBS board of directors has unanimously elected Jose Batista Sobrinho as its president. The founder of the business, Batista Sobrinho has been a member of the board of directors for over 10 years.
Batista Sobrinho said: “I am proud to resume leadership of the company we successfully established in 1953. I have complete confidence in the performance of our leadership, our management team and in our 235,000 employees worldwide, who have made JBS the success it is today.”