The Brazilian federal police suspects associates of former president Jair Bolsonaro of having resold gifts from abroad for Bolsonaro’s “illicit enrichment”. The evidence gathered showed that during Bolsonaro’s presidency, there was a network that siphoned off large amounts of his wealth, a chief justice said in a ruling on Friday. Previously, house searches had already been carried out at former Bolsonaro employees.
The detectives reported goods that were transported in a suitcase on the presidential plane at the end of last year. At that time, Bolsonaro left for the US state of Florida, two days before his left-wing successor Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in. The state gifts in the trunk included two sculptures from the government of Bahrain, as well as men’s jewelery from Saudi Arabia.
Lawyers deny allegations
One of the suspects, Bolsonaro confidant Mauro Cid, has been in prison since May. Cid has been arrested in connection with another case of alleged counterfeiting of corona vaccination certificates. In a voice message, according to investigators, Cid mentioned “25,000 dollars in cash” (22,719.01 euros), which were intended for the ex-president after the sale of certain goods.
The former president’s lawyers have denied the allegations. They said in a statement on news site G1 that Bolsonaro has “never” appropriated or misappropriated public property.
smuggled diamonds
The case of gifts from abroad to Bolsonaro came up in March. At the time, the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported that senior officials had tried to illegally smuggle in jewels donated by Saudi Arabia. The jewels in question were seized by customs in October 2021, including diamonds reportedly destined for then First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro. When questioned about the incident, Bolsonaro denied any criminal activity.
According to the Brazilian Court of Auditors, the head of state may only keep gifts “of a highly personal nature or of low monetary value” at the end of his term of office.
Bolsonaro’s presidency has been marked by scandal, including his mismanagement of the corona pandemic. Due to his unproven allegations of massive fraud in the country’s electoral system, the far-right ex-head of state was banned from all political office for eight years.
Source: Krone
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