Conservative Wyoming Congresswoman wants to send JBS packing

Wyoming’s Rep Harriet M. Hageman is best known for ending the political career of former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney.  Hageman has now asked U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gentler to deny the proposed initial public offering (IPO) by JBS, SA, an international meat packer.

For the past year, JBS has sought permission to list its shares on both its original Sao Paulo Stock Exchange and a dual listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

Significant opposition to the JBS financial plan has been organized, much of it by the leftist “Ban the Batista” organization, which advocates a worldwide boycott of JBS products. But Hageman is one of the most conservative members of Congress, and she wants to bring down the hammer on JBS just like she did on Cheney.

In her letter to the SEC chairman, she says she has “deep concern” about JBS. “For years, JBS engaged in illegal activity to tighten its stranglehold over the global meat processing market.” Wyoming’s sole member of Congress said criminal convictions make JBS a serious threat to U.S. investors, the U.S. agriculture community, and the affordability of food.

“In the last seven years alone, JBS and its holding company J&F Investments, and U.S. subsidiaries owned and controlled by convicted corporate criminals Joesley and Wesley Batista were levied at least $3.4 billion in fines and penalties in the U.S and Brazil,” Hageman told SEC.  She said those amounts included fines imposed by the U.S. Department of  Justice and SEC for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Hageman argued that JBS’s “history of bribery, deception, and corruption” is enough to “deter the SEC” from approving the dual listing.  She calls out the brothers. Joesley and Wesley Batista for “brazen disregard for good corporate governance.” The brothers moved from being defendants in Brazil’s justice system to being again elected to the JBS Board.

The  group calling for a world boycott of JBS,  “Ban the Batistas’   opposes what it calls “the unchecked power grab by the majority shareholders, brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista.”

“JBS SA, the world’s largest meat producer, and its owners, the notorious Batista Brothers of Brazil, intend to list their shares on the New York Stock Exchange. This IPO must be stopped,” according to Ban the Batistas. “Allowing JBS to access the American equity market enables and rewards the corrupt, dangerous, and criminal behavior of the Batista brothers at the expense of American farmers, consumers, and investors.”

JBS USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JBS, S.A., also has a dominant presence in North America.

Ban the Batistas” is a creative group. After the brothers got themselves voted back onto the JBS Board of Directors, “Ban the Batistas” came up with “Joesley Day,” celebrating May 17, 2017, when the bribery recording came out with dire consequences for the Sao Paulo stock market. It was the day that almost brought down the government of Brazil.

Hageman, an attorney elected to Congress, said, “JBS poses an unacceptable risk to investors, and the request for dual listing should be declined.

Hageman’s letter follows another from last January when a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators expressed similar concerns.

The decision to list the Brazilian meat processor JBS S.A. on the New York Stock Exchange was delayed until the second half of 2024.

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