Brazil Opens Bank Records Of Fallen Tycoon Batista

A federal court in Brazil gave police access to the bank records of former billionaire Eike Batista as part of an investigation into alleged financial fraud, a judicial source said on Friday.

The latest setback for Batista, who is accused of giving misleading information about the offshore wells of his bankrupt oil company, accompanied a court order this week that froze up to 122 million reais ($55 million) of his assets.

The source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation, did not say if any bank records had already been turned over.

Spokesmen for the court in Rio de Janeiro declined to comment on the case. Batista's representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

Federal prosecutors and police are conducting a joint investigation of Batista for possible crimes committed while he ran OGX, an oil company now called Oleo e Gas Participações SA .

 (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing by Brad Haynes)

($1 = 2.22 Brazilian reais)