Court upholds judge's removal from Eike Batista trial

A Brazilian appeals court confirmed Tuesday the removal of a judge from an insider dealing case against Eike Batista, setting the stage for a likely retrial.
The court system's inspector general, Nancy Andrighi, last week ordered that Flavio Roberto de Souza be removed from the trial after he was seen driving a Porsche that had been seized from the fallen tycoon, once Brazil's richest man with a $30 billion fortune.
"He considered himself on a crusade against the person who was Brazil's richest man," Globo quoted Judge Marcello Granado as saying after the Rio federal court of justice said the case was being assigned to another judge.
Batista lawyer Ary Bergher told Globo the decision to remove de Souza and revoke all of his decisions regarding the case, save one to freeze the tycoon's assets, "means the process will have to start over again."  
Granado reprimanded Souza for what he called "inappropriate" comments, while Batista's lawyers demanded his removal after he opened the trial in November by suggesting the businessman was a megalomaniac.
Police confiscated Batista's Porsche following a court order amid concerns the tycoon was trying to sell assets ordered impounded.
Souza told reporters the police did not have a safe place to park the vehicle and said he took it home for safe keeping -- along with a second car and a piano.
A media storm erupted after he was pictured driving the car.
Batista stands accused of selling off some $90 million of stock of his OGX oil firm using privileged information that the company's offshore fields would miss advertised production forecasts.
He insists he sold stock legally to meet debt obligations.
Batista faces up to five years in jail for allegedly deceiving investors after shelving a plan to invest $1 billion in OGX.
The firm filed for bankruptcy protection in October amid debts of a reported $5 billion.