Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has reportedly been charged with embezzling diamond jewelry he received from Saudi Arabia.
During his presidency, the Saudi government gifted Bolsonaro and his wife jewelry worth $3.2 million (2.96 million euros), including diamond necklaces, rings, luxury watches and earrings.
In 2021, the jewels were found in a backpack of a government official returning from Riyadh, and customs officials confiscated some of the jewels at São Paulo International Airport.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered an investigation and said some of the items had been sold but the sales had not been declared.
On Thursday, security sources told The Associated Press and Reuters that Brazilian federal police had charged Bolsonaro with money laundering and links to criminal organisations linked to jewellery.
However, the Supreme Court is yet to receive the police report to proceed.
How did the defendant react?
The former president’s eldest son, current senator Flavio Bolsonaro, said on social media that the news was another example of the “blatant and shameless” persecution of his father.
In addition to Bolsonaro, Brazilian police have reportedly charged 10 others, including two of his lawyers, Frederic Wassef and Fabio Wijngarten.
“I am going through all this just to work as a lawyer to defend Jair Bolsonaro,” Wassef said on social media.
Meanwhile, Weingarten said police found no evidence implicating him.
“The federal police know that I have done nothing unrelated to the subject of their investigation, but they are still trying to punish me because of my unwavering and persistent defense of former President Bolsonaro,” he said.
President Bolsonaro was indicted in May on suspicion of falsifying COVID-19 vaccination records, and this is his second indictment since leaving office.
