The onetime Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista has begun his formal defense against the insider-trading allegations brought by Brazil’s main securities regulator, the C.V.M., the International New York Times DealBook blog reported. Federal prosecutors in the country are also investigating Mr. Batista’s actions. But Mr. Batista’s ultimate saving grace may be that no one in Brazil has ever gone to jail for insider trading, and lawyers say that is unlikely to change now. Based on the track record of previous cases, the worst outcome Mr. Batista probably faces is a fine. Ever since Mr.

Prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro state have asked a Brazilian court to freeze the assets of businessman Eike Batista as a precautionary measure, a spokesman for the public prosecutors said, The Wall Street Journal reported. The spokesperson said he couldn't provide further details because the probe is subject to judicial secrecy. Mr. Batista is under investigation by the federal police for alleged financial crimes connected to his distressed oil company, formerly known as OGX Petróleo e Gás Participações SA. Mr. Batista couldn't be immediately reached for comment.

Oleo e Gas Participacoes SA, the bankrupt oil company controlled by Brazilian tycoon Eike Batista, received a $44 million offer for five oil exploration and production blocks in Colombia, the company said on Friday. The offer involves $30 million in cash and the assumption of $14 million in future exploration obligations in Colombia, Oleo e Gas said in a statement. It did not give the name of the investor or company making the offer. Oleo e Gas was formerly known as OGX Petroleo e Gas Participacoes SA.

Brazil’s federal police have opened an investigation into former billionaire Eike Batista for financial crimes, including insider trading, manipulation of markets and money laundering, Brazilian media reported on Friday. If the police probe leads to criminal charges against Batista, it would be yet another major blow for a businessman once hailed as Brazil's model entrepreneur and symbol of its economic success. Batista’s EBX oil, mining and logistics empire, which two years ago was valued at $60 billion, collapsed last year in a mountain of debt and massive filings for bankruptcy protection.

Brazilian shipbuilder OSX Brasil SA has 60 days to present its restructuring plan under bankruptcy legislation now that a new judge has been appointed to the case, the company said in a filing on Friday, Reuters reported. The Third Commercial Section of the Rio de Janeiro-State Justice Tribunal will hear the case and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu will act as trustee responsible for conducting the judicial process, the filing said. The deadline to file was suspended last month while another court reviewed a challenge to OSX's Nov. 11 bankruptcy protection filing.

The board of OSX Brasil SA, the shipbuilder controlled by former Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista, approved key terms of the restructuring plan for its leasing unit, according to a filing on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Last week the unit, OSX 3 Leasing BV, reached a preliminary agreement to pay creditors more interest on $500 million of defaulted bonds, and said it would retroactively raise the coupon to 13 percent from 9.25 percent. The plan still needs formal approval from creditors.

Óleo e Gás Participações SA, the Brazilian oil producer currently under bankruptcy protection, received the first portion of a debt-in-possession financing package, according to a statement on Thursday. The company received $125 million in the so-called DIP loan, of a total $215 million that were pledged by creditors, the company added, Reuters reported. The company was formerly known as OGX Petróleo e Gás Participações SA.

A Brazilian court has suspended the deadline for shipbuilder OSX Brasil SA to present its restructuring plan under bankruptcy legislation until a new judge is appointed to the case, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The 60-day deadline to file the plan was already suspended in January while another court reviewed a challenge to OSX's Nov. 11 bankruptcy protection filing. The new deadline will be set once the case is formally transferred to a new judge.

A Brazilian court has barred shipbuilder and ship-leaser OSX Brasil SA from joining its bankruptcy protection petition to that of Oleo e Gas Participações SA, the oil company controlled by former billionaire Eike Batista, Reuters reported. Judges of the 14th civil division of the Rio de Janeiro State Justice Tribunal made the ruling in response to a request by Spanish construction company Acciona to keep the bankruptcy filings separate, the court's press office said on Thursday. The decision was handed down on Wednesday but has yet to be officially published, the press office said.

Brazil's Oleo e Gas Participações SA has won a final court ruling to add international financing unit OGX Austria GmbH to its bankruptcy filing, a lawyer for the company said on Wednesday. The approval by the 14th Civil Part of the Rio de Janeiro-State Justice Tribunal addresses concerns that failure to include foreign subsidiaries in the bankruptcy petition could mean any restructuring plan approved by a Brazilian judge might be open to legal challenges in Brazil or abroad, Reuters reported. OGX Austria has sold $3.63 billion in bonds, the bulk of the parent's debt.