Grupo BTG Pactual SA, the Brazilian investment bank that sought rescue financing last month after the arrest of its founder, cut 18 percent of its roughly 1,600-person workforce in Brazil, two people familiar with the plan said.

No partners were affected by the reductions, which will be made public later Thursday, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the cuts haven’t been announced. The New York office was also affected by job cuts, the person said, without providing further details.

BTG sold assets and secured a credit line from Brazil’s deposit-insurance fund, known as FGC, to shore-up cash following the November arrest of then-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Andre Esteves in connection with a nationwide corruption scandal. Esteves, who was moved to house arrest from jail in December, has denied any wrongdoing through his lawyers. BTG has said it isn’t part of the investigation.

The plan is aimed at eliminating about 25 percent of BTG’s Brazil expenses, one of the people said. BTG had a total of almost 5,400 employees as of December, according to its unaudited financial statements.

Keeping Businesses

The Sao Paulo-based firm intends to keep key businesses that are among its most profitable, its new chairman, Persio Arida, said this month in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos. That includes commodities, asset and wealth management, investment banking, sales and trading, and brokerage operations.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that BTG planned job cuts.

BTG is in talks to sell BSI to EFG International AG, a person with knowledge of the matter said this month.

“The situation has stabilized, but we want to be in a very comfortable position as it takes some time to recover the confidence levels counterparties previously had,” Arida said in Davos.