Brazil's former richest man Eike Batista sent to prison

Former Brazilian oil and mining tycoon Eike Batista
 has been transferred to a high security prison in
 Rio de Janeiro after being arrested on arrival from 
New York.

Once Brazil's richest man, he has been accused of
 paying millions of dollars in bribes to secure contracts
 with Rio's state government.

Mr Batista has denied any wrongdoing.

He has promised to help the authorities in their 
efforts to tackle corruption which he says is
 widespread in Brazil.

Before boarding the plane and turning himself in to 
police, Mr Batista said he was returning to Brazil to
 clear his name.

"I'm at the disposal of the courts," he told O Globo 
newspaper in New York. "As a Brazilian, I am doing my 
duty."

Under Brazilian law, Mr Batista would have been sent
 to a special prison wing if he had a university degree.

But as he dropped out before finishing his engineering 
degree in Germany, he will be serving time in an ordinary 
cell with six other inmates at the Bangu penitentiary.

Many Brazilian jails are overcrowded and controlled 
by criminal gangs.

The authorities in Rio say, however, that is not the 
case at Bangu.


Using fake German passport

Mr Batista was met by police as he landed in Rio on
 Monday morning.

He was escorted off the plane and initially taken to the
 Ary Franco prison in Rio.

After undergoing medical exams and having his hair cut
 short, hen was transferred to the high security prison
 in the outskirts of the city.

Mr Batista was declared a fugitive by Brazilian officials 
after police raided his estate in Rio de Janeiro last week
 and found he had left for New York just hours earlier.

A correspondent says there was much speculation on whether Mr Batista would return to Brazil or use his 
German passport to flee to Europe.




Who can Eike Batista be ?

Seen by many as the face of Brazilian capitalism

Bold, extravagant and charismatic, he made most of his
fortune during the commodities boom that brought great
wealth to Brazil

Listed in 2012 by Forbes Magazine as the world's seventh-
richest man, with an estimated fortune of $35bn

His Grupo EBX conglomerate spanned mining, oil, shipbuilding
and logistics

After EBX collapsed following a crash in demand for
commodities, his wealth slumped to under $1bn (£800m)


But Mr Batista said the trip to New York was not an 
attempt on his part to flee justice.

He is now due to be questioned about his alleged 
involvement in a corruption ring involving powerful
 business people and influential politicians in Rio de
 Janeiro state.

Investigators accuse Mr Batista of paying the then-
governor of the state, Sergio Cabral, $16.5m (£13.2m) 
in bribes to win government contracts.

Mr Cabral was arrested in November as part of a 
larger corruption investigation dubbed Operation Car 
Wash.

As a result of Operation Car Wash, more than 100
 people, including Brazil's most powerful building tycoon, Marcelo Odebrecht, have been convicted of crimes such
 as bribery, racketeering and money-laundering.