Ahead of the outcome of an investigation by the Brazilian police, Jair Bolsonaro has promised to hand over the jewels he received from Saudi Arabia to the Brazilian Court of Auditors. So say the lawyers of the former Brazilian president. The jewels may have been illegally imported to Brazil.
The ex-president has been under fire since the Brazilian newspaper The state of Sao Paulo in early March revealed that in October 2021 at the airport in Sao Paulo, customs officials intercepted a $3.2 million set of jewelry for Bolsonaro’s wife.
The jewelery from the Swiss brand Chopard was in the backpack of an assistant to Bolsonaro’s Minister of Mines and Energy when the delegation returned from an official trip to the Middle East. The minister, Bento Albuquerque, indicated that another set of jewelry had also been brought into Brazil without being declared.
Personal gifts
Some of that jewelry was in Bolsonaro’s possession. The former president kept a watch, a pen and other luxuries for himself. He reportedly viewed them as personal gifts and believes he did nothing illegal with them.
Justice Minister Flavio Dino announced Monday that Bolsonaro and his former minister will be summoned to testify about the jewels. So now Bolsonaro’s lawyers have offered to hand in the jewels, pending a decision. The lawyer stressed that Bolsonaro “has never intended to enrich himself with property that can be classified as public in any way”.
Under Brazilian law, goods worth more than $1,000 must be declared before being brought into the country so that taxes can be levied on them. Gifts from a country to the Brazilian state are exempt from tax.
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