Brazil's Bolsonaro indicted for money laundering, Saudi diamonds

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
5 Jul 2024 13:05
2 Shares

Once the report with the indictment is sent to Brazil's Supreme Court, Paulo Gonet, the prosecutor general, will review the papers and determine whether to press charges or order Bolsonaro to appear in court.

Listen

Brazil's Federal Revenue Department shows jewelry received by ex-President Jair Bolsonaro seized by customs authorities at Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, March 24, 2023. (AP)

According to a source familiar with the situation, the former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, was charged by Federal Police with money laundering and criminal association to undisclosed diamonds that the far-right leader had received from Saudi Arabia while in office.

The indictment was confirmed by a second source, however they did not specify the exact crimes.

The police report containing the indictment has not yet been sent to Brazil's Supreme Court. After it does, Paulo Gonet, the prosecutor general, will review the papers and determine whether to press charges or order Bolsonaro to appear in court.

Since leaving government, Bolsonaro has been the subject of two indictments; the first was in May for reportedly forging his COVID-19 immunization certificate. Though his supporters see it as political persecution, his opponents celebrate his arrest, which significantly increases the legal risks confronting him.

Last year in August, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge gave police permission to search the bank accounts of Jair and Michelle Bolsonaro, who are accused of embezzling jewelry and official gifts while they were in office.

The controversy involves lavish gifts from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and first made news three months after Bolsonaro stepped down following his loss of the election in October 2022.

$3.2 million diamond earrings

According to one of Brazil's conservative publications, in October 2021, Sao Paulo airport customs authorities intercepted a $3.2 million set of diamond earrings that a military official traveling with one of Bolsonaro's ministers attempted to bring in his backpack without registering. The Bolsonaro administration attempted, but failed, to retrieve the jewelry, which was allegedly a gift from Saudi Arabia to the then-first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro.

Then in September, Bolsonaro's former personal secretary allegedly informed authorities that he turned over tens of thousands of dollars to his former boss after selling two costly watches received as official presents by Brazil's ex-president.

Lt, Col Mauro Cid Barbosa, Bolsonaro's aide-de-camp throughout his 2019-23 administration, was freed from police custody after reaching a plea agreement.

According to the deal, Cid had to submit information about a number of suspected crimes committed under Bolsonaro's government, including an attempted coup plan and a scandal involving the alleged misuse of expensive foreign gifts.

Shortly before his release, Bolsonaro's former right-hand man allegedly submitted a statement to Brazilian federal authorities in which he confessed to selling a Rolex and Patek Philippe watches for $68,000 before giving the money to Bolsonaro in cash.

Bolsonaro is not only entangled in scandals but is being investigated by police for his role in the January 8 attacks in Brasilia in an attempt to overturn Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government.