The Brazilian Federal Police has charged former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro with money laundering in a case of undeclared jewelry he received from Saudi Arabia during his tenure. Writes UNN with reference to France24.
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Brazil's Federal Police on Thursday formally charged former President Jair Bolsonaro with embezzlement for allegedly misappropriating jewelry he received as head of state. These were luxury items provided by the Saudi government.
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Jair Bolsonaro has several open fronts with the Brazilian justice system, with charges ranging from falsifying his immunization record to plotting a coup d'état. On Thursday, one of the less high-profile cases reached a new level: after more than a year of investigations, the Federal Police accused the president of trying to misappropriate expensive jewelry that the Saudi royal family presented to the Brazilian entourage during an official visit to Saudi Arabia in 2021.
What is known about the gift from the Saudis
According to media reports, the jewelry included a Rolex watch, earrings, a kind of Arabic rosary and a spectacular gold and diamond Chopard necklace.
According to police experts, they were worth about 5 million reais ($900,000). Allegedly, the former president's Brazilian entourage tried to import them into Brazil without declaring and paying the appropriate taxes.
Bolsonaro's trustees even tried to auction some of the jewelry in the United States. In the end, when all this came to light, the Union Court of Accounts explained that these were state gifts and that Bolsonaro had to return them immediately, which he did a few days later. The former president's allies believe that there is no case because there was no damage to the state treasury and speak of unjustified prosecution.
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In addition to the criminal investigations, the former president is also in the crosshairs of the electoral justice system, which has already deprived him of his political rights for eight years in two cases due to the abuse of political and economic power he suffered during the campaign for the elections he lost in 2022.