Brazil widens inquiry into theft of state gifts under Bolsonaro
4 Min Read
The former President and close associates have been accused of selling off costly state gifts.
-
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on October 29, 2022 (AP)
Brazilian authorities are investigating Jair Bolsonaro's participation in the theft of official gifts, which initially made headlines in March.
The controversy involved lavish gifts from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and first made news three months after Bolsonaro stepped down following his loss of the election last October.
According to one of Brazil's conservative publications, in October 2021, Sao Paulo airport customs authorities intercepted a €3 million (£2.6 million) set of diamond earrings that a military official traveling with one of Bolsonaro's ministers attempted to bring in his backpack without registering. Bolsonaro administration attempted, but failed, to retrieve the jewelry, which was allegedly a gift from Saudi Arabia to the then-first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro.
At the time, a judge on Brazil's Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), which oversees the government coffers, ordered Bolsonaro and his former Mines and Energy Minister, Bento Albuquerque, to present explanations to investigators on whether the jewels were personal presents or gifts to the nation and why they were not properly declared.
Bolsonaro and his family have rejected all allegations, but the issue has reached new heights in recent days, with federal investigators requesting access to Bolsonaro's financial records, claiming concerns that members of his inner circle were selling off official presents, including a Rolex, after flying them out of Brazil on the presidential plane.
The white gold Rolex timepiece, a present from Saudi Arabia to Bolsonaro in the first year of his 2019-23 government, is said to have made its way to a US watch dealer that guarantees "risk-free transactions" to consumers from all over the world, according to Brazilian federal police.
Read next: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro seeks US visa to avoid probe
A Patek Philippe clock given by Bahrain allegedly wound up in the same shop, while a collection of Saudi Chopard jewelry was put up for auction. The Chopard pieces, which included a watch, pen, cufflinks, ring, and an Arabic rosary, did not sell for the $120,000 asking price.
The Rolex and Patek Philippe watches sold for $68,000 by one of Bolsonaro's closest aides, Lt Col Mauro Cid Barbosa, who was detained in May due to a Covid immunization fraud scheme.
Mauro Cid's father, an army general named Mauro Lourena Cid, was drawn into the issue last Friday when police conducted a series of raids on Bolsonaro allies they suspect were engaged in the alleged embezzlement plot.
Among the evidence acquired is a mobile phone image in which the general's reflection is believed to be seen in a black box carrying a golden palm tree that the group is accused of attempting to sell after Bolsonaro got it from Bahrain.
The ex-President is set to be questioned by federal authorities for the fourth time since January on Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, the diamond-set Day-Date Rolex has returned to Brazil, apparently after being repurchased by a lawyer connected to the Bolsonaro clan who traveled to the United States to retrieve the watch (at a greater price) when Brazilian authorities ordered its return.
That attorney, Frederick Wassef, popularly known as the Angel, has denied any misconduct. He told GloboNews that he had "never seen any jewelry."
Wassef later admitted Tuesday to going to the United States to retrieve the Rolex in the US for $49,001 to bring to Brazilian authorities. "I used my own money," he claimed to reporters.
Bolsonaro out of public office until 2030, court rules
In June, the former Brazilain President barred the far-right nationalist from holding public office until 2030 for his behavior during the 2022 contentious election.
Five out of seven justices voted to convict the 68-year-old Bolsonaro for abuse of power and misuse of the media over charges whereby in July, before the 2022 election, he summoned ambassadors to vent unfounded claims about Brazil's electronic voting system.
The former President is being tried by the tribunal on allegations that he abused his position and state media to spread false information about security holes in Brazil's electronic voting system.
A week after the inauguration of leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro's supporters invaded the presidential palace, Congress, and Supreme Court on January 8. Prosecutors have connected these actions to Bolsonaro's statements. Lula had defeated Bolsonaro in last October's elections.
