RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Eike Batista, the flamboyant Brazilian tycoon once named No. 7 on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people, went on trial Tuesday in an insider trading case that could make him the first person in the country to go to prison on such charges.
The 58-year-old former billionaire who once reveled in the limelight made a now-rare public appearance with his arrival Tuesday at a federal criminal court in Rio de Janeiro.
It’s the latest chapter in a vertiginous fall that saw Batista’s estimated $30 billion fortune evaporate over the past two years as his oil, mining, logistics and shipbuilding empire crumbled. Batista often used to say he hoped to dethrone Mexico’s Carlos Slim to become the world’s richest person, but now says he’s $1 billion in debt.
Batista faces market manipulation charges in the sales of shares in two of his companies, including the OGX oil exploration and production unit that filed for bankruptcy protection last year. If convicted, Batista faces fines and up to 13 years in prison, but experts say he could get a lighter sentence as a first-time defendant.
Batista has insisted he’s innocent, saying the shares he sold belonged to creditors, not him.