It is the second indictment of the populist former president since he left office, after another in May for the alleged falsification of his COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
The Brazilian Federal Police has accused the former president Jair Bolsonaro for money laundering and criminal association in relation to the undeclared diamonds that the far-right leader received from Saudi Arabia during his tenure, according to a source familiar with the accusations.
A second source confirmed the accusation, although not for what specific crimes. Both officials spoke quietly. condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The Supreme Court of Brazil He has not yet received the police report with the accusation. Once he does, the country’s attorney general, Paulo Gonetwill analyze the document and decide si press charges and forces Bolsonaro to submit to trial.
The second accusation against Bolsonaro
This is the second accusation against Bolsonaro since he left office, after another in May for the alleged falsification of his COVID-19 vaccination certificate. But this accusation dramatically increases the legal threats that the divisive former leader faces, which are applauded by his opponents but denounced as political persecution by his supporters.
Bolsonaro had no immediate comment, but he and his lawyersyou have previously been denied any crime in both cases, as well as other investigations into the former president.
One of them is investigating their possible involvement in instigating an uprising. in the capital, Brasilia, on January 8, 2023, who sought to expel his successor from power.
Last year, the Federal Police accused Bolsonaro of trying to sneak in diamond jewelry supposedly valued at 2.7 million euros and of selling two luxury watches. Police said in August that Bolsonaro received cash from the sale of almost 64,000 euros of two luxury watches that he received as a gift from Saudi Arabia.
Brazil requires its citizens arriving by plane from abroad to declare the assets whose value exceeds 920 euros and, for any amount that exceeds that exemption, they pay a tax equivalent to 50% of its value.
The jewels would have been tax exempt If they had been a gift from Saudi Arabia to Brazil, but in that case Bolsonaro would not have kept them, they would have been added to the presidential collection.
The research showed that Mauro Cid, former Bolsonaro aide-de-camp who allegedly falsified his records COVID-19, sold in June 2022 a Rolex watch and a Patek Philippe watch to a US store for a total of 62,000 euros. They were given by the Government of Saudi Arabia in 2019. Later, Cid signed an agreement with the authorities and confirmed everything.
A “brazen and shameless” persecution
Flávio Bolsonaro, the oldest son of the former president and sitting senator, said in X after Thursday’s accusation that the persecution against his father was “brazen and shameless.”
In addition to Bolsonaro, The Police accused 10 other people, among them Cid and two of his lawyers, Frederick Wassef and Fábio Wajngarten, according to one of the sources. Wassef said in a statement that he did not have access to the final report of the investigation, and denounced the selective leaks to the pressa of an investigation that is supposed to proceed under secrecy.
“I’m going through all this just to practice law in defense of Jair Bolsonaro“, wrote.
Last year, Brazil’s highest electoral court ruled that Bolsonaro abused his presidential powers during his bid for re-election in 2022, which disqualified him from any election until 2030.
The case centered on a meeting during which Bolsonaro used government officials, the state television channel and the presidential palace in Brasilia to tell foreign ambassadors that the country’s electronic voting system was rigged.
