Scandal-plagued meatpacking giant comes to US stock market

Brazilian meat-packer JBS was expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, capping a stunning comeback by brothers Joesley and Wesley Batista less than a decade after they were jailed in a record-breaking corruption scandal and forced into the backseat of their global food empire.

- LUCIANA NOVAES MAGALHAES LISANDRA PARAGUASSU RICARDO BRITO

A US listing for the world's biggest meatpacker, which the company has sought since 2009, comes as the broth-ers, now back on the board of JBS, have also recovered much of their vaunted influence among Brazil's political elite.

Their prominence was on display on June 7 when Wesley Batista, fresh off a trip to Paris with Brazilian Presi-dent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took the stage to discuss the economic outlook with Brazil's central bank chief and senior bankers.

Batista was in good spirits, pushing back against some of the criticism that Brazilian business leaders have levelled against Lula’s leftist government.

"We need to look at what's working too, because everyone here is making investment plans and growing," he told the beachside gathering in Sao Paulo state, drawing applause.

Few business leaders can match the brothers' access in the capital Brasilia. Mr Lula's public agenda shows that one or both have appeared alongside the president during at least five public events since last year.