Brazil’s Bolsonaro ordered to hand over gift jewelry and weapons

The former president is facing scrutiny over reports that his administration tried to bring $3.2 million worth of jewelry into Brazil.

A Brazilian court has ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to return jewelry he reportedly received from the Saudi Arabian government as a gift when he was president.

Wednesday’s decision by Brazil’s federal court of accounts comes days after Brazilian police started an investigation in an alleged attempt to smuggle a set of jewelry, valued at more than $3.2 million, into the country.

Those trinkets, intended for the then-president and his wife Michelle, were intercepted in 2021 by customs officials. But authorities hope to recover a second set of jewelry, valued at about $75,000, that is believed to have entered the country undetected.

Both sets of jewelry were reportedly offered as gifts by the Saudi Arabian government.

Wednesday’s court order gives Bolsonaro five days to hand over any jewelry offered by Saudi Arabia in his possession, as well as two weapons he received from the United Arab Emirates in 2019.

Additionally, the order initiates an audit of all official gifts obtained by Bolsonaro during his presidency, which lasted from 2019 to 2022.

The court further stated that the seized $3.2 million jewelry package would remain in custody at the presidential offices. Members of Bolsonaro’s administration had previously unsuccessfully tried to release the jewels while the far-right politician was in office.

The package includes a diamond necklace, a ring, a watch and earrings from the luxurious Swiss jeweler Chopard. The jewels had been discovered in the backpack of an aide to Bolsonaro’s energy minister, as the staff member was returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia.

Under Brazilian law, public officials can only keep gifts that are “very personal and of minimal monetary value,” Chief Justice Bruno Dantas said at the public hearing.

Travelers entering Brazil with goods worth more than $1,000 must also declare them and pay heavy import taxes.

The Bolsonaro administration could have brought the items into the country duty-free as official gifts to the nation. However, they would have belonged to the presidential palace collection, not to the president and his family.

Dantas said the presidential palace was “the rightful owner” of the items in question.

The issue has dominated headlines in Brazil since it was first reported in early March in the Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper.

Last week, Justice Minister Flavio Dino announced an investigation into the jewelry scandal and asked police to investigate whether Bolsonaro’s staff tried to cross the border “without complying with legal procedures” to receive government gifts. or high value items.

Bolsonaro has denied any involvement in illegal activities and told CNN Brazil that he was being “crucified” for a gift he neither requested nor received.

However, on Monday his lawyer recognized the second set of jewelry given away and said in a letter to police that he would account for those gifts.

Bolsonaro has been living in the United States since late December, shortly before his successor, left-wing politician Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, took office. Lula defeated Bolsonaro in a runoff election for the presidency in October.

Bolsonaro, however, still does not admit defeat. He and his political allies have claimed without evidence that Brazil’s voting system was prone to fraud, prompting some supporters to call for a military coup against Lula’s presidency.

Bolsonaro is under investigation for any role in a January 8 attack in which his supporters stormed key government buildings in the capital Brasilia.