Former president’s entourage tried to bring valuable pieces without declaring them to the Federal Revenue during his government
the former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) declared on the night of this Tuesday (29.Mar.2023) that “nothing was hidden”, when asked about the jewels given by the government of Saudi Arabia to then First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro during her term. The former chief executive’s statement was given in an interview with CNN at Orlando Airport, in the United States, where Bolsonaro boarded a flight back to Brazil.
The case of the jewels was disclosed by the newspaper The State of São Paulo on March 3rd. According to Bolsonaro, the newspaper was only able to publish about the jewels because they were “indexed”. However, the former president did not say that his entourage tried to enter Brazil without declaring the pieces to the Federal Revenue Service.
“I don’t know why all this scandal”, he declared. The former president said he understands that the issue of the 3 packages of jewels is “resolved”but that he would like to keep the firearms he received as a gift during his term.
Bolsonaro said that the jewels were always in his collection, but that he could not reveal the location for security reasons. He also said that the crafts that intended to remove the pieces had the objective of bringing them “for the collection”. Bolsonaro added that his personal collection is available for a possible audit by the TCU (Union Court of Auditors).
“I have a watch worth R$20, worth R$200. Knives. What knives I got for Brazil with my name on it… They’re there. If you have to donate, be collected by someone, no problem at all. There’s nothing wrong with my government, from what I’ve raised so far. Who will wear a watch, for example, for R$200,000 or R$300,000? I would never use. I would keep my watch, happy as hell”he declared.
On social media, videos circulated of Bolsonaro doing the check in for his flight and greeting his supporters.
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Arriving in Brazil, the former president will have to testify next Wednesday (5.Apr.2023) to the PF (Federal Police) in an investigation that investigates the jewelry brought to Brazil as a gift from the government of Saudi Arabia, during official trips abroad .
The former chief executive was also included in an inquiry investigating the extremist acts of January 8, in Brasilia.
BOLSONARO’S JEWELS
A newspaper report The State of São Paulo revealed that the government of former president Jair Bolsonaro would have tried to bring jewelry to Brazil without declaring it to the Federal Revenue. The pieces, valued at BRL 16.5 millionwould be a gift from the government of Saudi Arabia to the then first lady Michelle Bolsonaro.
The set consisted of a necklace, ring, watch and diamond earrings with a certificate of authenticity from Chopard, the Swiss brand of luxury accessories.
The pieces were seized at the Guarulhos airport, in São Paulo. They were in the backpack of an advisor to the then Minister Bento Albuquerque (Mines and Energy), who was part of the federal government’s entourage in the Middle East, in October 2021.
The legislation determines that assets exceeding the value of US$ 1,000 must be declared. In this case, Bolsonaro would have to pay import tax equivalent to 50% of the value of the product and a fine equal to 25% of the total seized item – a total of R$ 12 million.
To enter the country without paying the tax, it was necessary to declare the jewels as an official gift for the First Lady and the President of the Republic. In this way, the jewels would be destined to the Union’s assets.
According to the report, the former head of the Executive tried to recover the jewels 8 times, using Itamaraty and officials from the Ministry of Mines and Energy and even the Navy, but failed.
Bolsonaro denied the illegality of the pieces and said he was being accused of a gift he neither asked for nor received. Michelle also said she was unaware of the set.
After the publication of the report, the former head of the Special Secretariat for Social Communication in the Bolsonaro government, Fabio Wajngarten, published a series of documents and stated that the jewels would go to the presidential collection.
Despite the letters released by Wajngarten, the Federal Revenue said on March 4 that the Bolsonaro government had not followed the necessary procedures to incorporate the pieces into the Union’s collection.
On March 7, the PF (Federal Police) had access to a document showing the 2nd package of jewelry from Saudi Arabia listed as the former president’s private collection. The new document contradicts Bolsonaro’s version, which stated that the jewels donated by the Saudi government would be sent to the Union’s collection.
With the PF statement, the former president confirmed that the 2nd jewelry box by Chopard was listed as a personal collection. However, he continued to deny the illegality of the pieces.
In addition to jewelry, during his government, Bolsonaro also received other items of value, such as a rifle and a pistol that he won on a visit to the United Arab Emirates. The rifle, with a caliber of 5.56 mm, and the pistol, of 9 mm, would have been a gift from a prince of a royal family in the United Arab Emirates. The information was disclosed by the news portal metropolises.
The former president’s defense delivered the items to Caixa Econômica Federal on Friday (24.mar).
3rd JEWELRY BOX
Bolsonaro also has a 3rd jewelry box received from the government of Saudi Arabia. The gift valued at at least BRL 500,000 was given to the then Chief Executive during a visit to the country in 2019. The State of S.Paulo.
The value of R$ 500,000 for the set is an estimate of the Estadão. The newspaper had access to a document proving that the box was delivered directly to Bolsonaro when he was on an official trip to Doha, Qatar, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from October 28 to 30, 2019.
Upon landing in Brazil, the items were sent to the private collection of the then president. The parts registration document states that there was no intermediary in the process and that the gift was viewed by the president.
On June 6 of last year, according to data from the Presidency’s system, a request was made for the items to be “forwarded to the office of President Jair Bolsonaro”. Two days later it was confirmed that they were “under the protection of the President of the Republic”.
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