On July 1, 2019, plaintiffs in In re Banco Bradesco S.A. Securities Litigation, Case No.1:16-cv-04155-GHW, filed a proposed class action settlement in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The litigation arose from Brazil’s investigation into the alleged bribery of Brazilian tax officials by Banco Bradesco S.A. executives, who allegedly offered to pay millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for favorable tax rulings.
The proposed class consists of individuals who purchased Bradesco American Depositary Shares (ADS’s) between May 2012 and July 2016. Plaintiffs allege that Bradesco executives violated federal securities laws by issuing false and misleading statements and by failing to disclose material adverse facts concerning Bradesco’s compliance, which caused the ADS share price to be artificially inflated. Under the proposed settlement, Bradesco would pay $14.5 million to resolve plaintiffs’ claims.