Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his wife Michelle appeared before the Federal Police on Thursday to testify in an investigation into jewelry gifts that they received from Arab heads of state and never declared. The couple chose to remain silent during questioning.
In addition to Bolsonaro and his wife, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid, his father (a retired army general), and another military officer who served as a presidential aide were also called to testify at Police headquarters in Brasilia.
Arguing the case should be heard in Sao Paulo, Bolsonaro’s defense team justified their silence due to some of the jewelry being seized by customs agents at Guarulhos airport, which falls under Sao Paulo jurisdiction, not Brasilia.
Investigations by the police revealed that the gifts, including jewelry, expensive watches, and gold-plated statuettes from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, were never declared. The unauthorized gifts only came to light when Bolsonaro attempted to retrieve the seized batch from customs.
In response to the public knowledge of the presidential gifts, a court ordered the couple to surrender them to the state. However, Bolsonaro aides and his lawyer sought to repurchase items that were sold in the United States, according to the police.
Prosecutors assert that the correct jurisdiction for the case is Brasilia, where the investigation was initiated by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
This marks the fifth occasion on which Bolsonaro has been summoned by the police to provide statements in a series of investigations, ranging from his criticisms of Brazil’s election system to his suspected involvement in inciting his followers to storm government buildings to protest his election defeat.
Bolsonaro, a far-right politician, was defeated by leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in October, after which incidents of invasion and vandalism were carried out by Bolsonaro supporters at his former presidential offices, the Supreme Court, and Congress.
Bolsonaro and Michelle Bolsonaro spent the past two days preparing with their team of lawyers and advisers, according to officials from his political party. However, both opted to remain silent during questioning due to concerns that his former aide Cid, who has been in jail since May, could potentially contradict their account and implicate the couple by seeking a plea bargain.
One party source with direct knowledge of the situation expressed worry about the potential revelations if Cid were to confess. Cid, responsible for managing Bolsonaro’s finances, was arrested for his suspected involvement in a scheme to provide Bolsonaro with fraudulent vaccine cards during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reporting by Ricardo Brito; editing by Anthony Boadle and Grant McCool
Credit: The Star : News Feed
