BTG Pactual’s billionaire CEO and chairman, Andre Esteves, has resigned from the Brazilian bank following his arrest on Wednesday, in relation to the Petrobras corruption scandal.
Esteves was due to be released on Sunday, however the Brazilian Supreme Court agreed to prosecutors’ requests to extend his arrest indefinitely over graft charges. Esteves’ lawyer says that he has denied all accusations.
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According to Reuters, prosecutors allege that the bank paid 45 m reals ($11.63 m) to Eduardo Cunha, speaker of the lower house of Congress, in exchange for passing legislation favouring the bank.
The arrest resulted in BTG clients pulling money from hedge funds amongst other investment vehicles run by the bank. BTG’s share price had dipped by over 25% on Friday.
Taking over the executive chairman role is Persio Arida who had taken over temporarily following Esteves’ arrest. Roberto Saloutti, former chief operating officer, and Marcelo Kalim, former chief financial officer, have been appointed as co-CEOs.
Esteves still owns over 28% of BTG. The stake also includes a "golden share" which allows him to veto any board decision.
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