CONFLICTS

Brazil businessman Eike Batista ensnared in corruption probe

Associated Press
Published | Updated

FILE- In this Nov. 18, 2014, file photo, former billionaire Eike Batista, a Brazilian tycoon once named No. 7 on Forbes' list of the world's richest people, attends a hearing at a federal criminal court in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Federal police on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, issued an arrest warrant for Batista for allegedly paying bribes to former Rio state Gov. Sergio Cabral to gain advantage in government contracts. Cabral is facing several corruption charges and was jailed in 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE- In this April 7, 2009, file photo, Brazil's businessman Eike Batista, left, and Rio de Janeiro's governor Sergio Cabral attend a ceremony in which Batista donated R$ 10'000,000.00, around US$ 4.5 US million dollars, for the the Rio 2016 Olympic games bid in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Federal police on Thursday, Jan. 26 2017, issued an arrest warrant for Batista for allegedly paying bribes to former Rio state Gov. Sergio Cabral to gain advantage in government contracts. Cabral is facing several corruption charges and was jailed in 2016. (AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE- In this Nov. 18, 2014, file photo, former billionaire Eike Batista, a Brazilian tycoon once named No. 7 on Forbes' list of the world's richest people, attends a hearing at a federal criminal court in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Federal police on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, issued an arrest warrant for Batista for allegedly paying bribes to former Rio state Gov. Sergio Cabral to gain advantage in government contracts. Cabral is facing several corruption charges and was jailed in 2016. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File) (The Associated Press)

A Brazilian businessman famous for amassing and then losing a multi-billion-dollar fortune is the latest person to get caught up in a wide-ranging corruption probe roiling Latin America's largest nation.

Federal police on Thursday issued an arrest warrant for Eike Batista for allegedly paying bribes to former Rio state Gov. Sergio Cabral to gain advantage in government contracts. Cabral is facing several corruption charges and was jailed last year.

Globo Television showed images of police going to Batista's home in Rio de Janeiro. However, he was not found. His lawyer said he was traveling and would turn himself in to police.

In 2011, Batista was listed by Forbes magazine as the world's eighth-richest person. By 2013, his fortune had crumbled amid debts in his various energy sector companies.