2023-08-14 18:32:40
Jair Bolsonaro
The ex-president is accused of embezzlement and money laundering.
(Photo: AP)
Salvador A corrupt president receives jewels, jewelery and watches during state visits to the Middle East. The head of state tries to sell the valuable gifts through middlemen. Eventually, the police catch up with him. What sounds like a script is exactly what appears to be happening to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro should the investigations by Brazil’s Federal Police finally be confirmed.
The police findings that have become public in the past few days are outrageous. “Lucas 12:2” is the code name of the investigation, after a Bible verse from the Gospel of Luke. “But nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not be known,” it says.
For STF Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, enough has already been revealed. He sees Bolsonaro’s guilt as proven. The ex-president received the value of the sales in cash and added it to his personal fortune. There are suspicions of embezzlement and money laundering.
The federal police in Brazil have now applied to the STF for permission to view Bolsonaro’s accounts. In addition, the ex-president and his wife Michelle Bolsonaro should testify before the police. The federal police have also asked the North American FBI for administrative assistance.
The scene of the events that have now been uncovered was primarily the USA, where Bolsonaro fled at the end of last year a few hours before his successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office.
Bolsonaro has long denied receiving the gifts
In the weeks after the lost election in November 2022, his former military aide Mauro Cid is said to have sold two luxury Swiss watches. However, an attempt to sell a men’s jewelery set by the Swiss brand Chopard via an auction house failed.
In Brazil, there had long been suspicion that Bolsonaro had tried to monetize gifts he received as president. Another Chopard women’s jewelery set was confiscated by customs officials at São Paulo airport in October 2021 when a delegation of ministers returned from Saudi Arabia. Despite urging from Bolsonaro’s officials, all efforts to redeem the jewels failed, most recently a day before his trip to the US.
Jair Bolsonaro
Brazil’s federal police have requested access to Bolsonaro’s accounts.
(Photo: IMAGO/Fotoarena)
Bolsonaro has always defended himself that these are personal gifts. He had previously denied ever having received the valuables. Meanwhile, thousands more gifts are said to be stored at the home of former Formula 1 world champion Nelson Piquet, a fervent Bolsonaro admirer, in Brasília.
The current investigations show how Bolsonaro is said to have used his military network to enrich himself personally. Early on, he had a four-star general and father of his military aide transferred to Miami to head the local branch of the Brazilian export promotion company.
Bolsonaro is keeping a low profile on social media
High-ranking General Mauro Lourena Cid graduated from the military academy with Bolsonaro in the same year. But unlike Bolsonaro, who was almost dishonorably dismissed for lack of discipline, he later made a career and was at times one of the highest military officers in the army.
The watch sales are said to have been processed through his account in the USA. A photo he sent to his son shows a golden palm tree in a casket presented to Bolsonaro in Bahrain. In the photo, the reserve general is reflected in the background. Along with the photo, he asks his son how he intends to sell the gift.
Mauro Cid
The military aide is said to have been one of the middlemen in selling the gifts.
(Photo: AP)
It is striking that despite the outrageous allegations on the Bolsonaro family’s accounts on social networks, things remain quiet. In addition, no military publicly takes sides with the ex-president, who has provided thousands of military personnel with lucrative jobs in his government. For the ex-president, who lost his right to stand as a candidate until 2030 at the end of June, the process could end in prison.
The 17 million real (about three million euros) that Bolsonaro collected from his fans in just a few days to be able to pay for his lawsuits – he will now be able to use them for his lawyers.
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