The Federal Public Ministry of Brazil asked the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) on Monday to demand that former President Jair Bolsonaro return all the gifts received during his term.
The request by prosecutor Lucas Rocha Furtado comes four days after Bolsonaro, his wife Michelle Bolsonaro and other people linked to the former ruler decided to remain silent in the testimonies they gave before the Brazilian Federal Police, in Brasilia, in a case about illegal sale of jewelry. .
The case concerns a set of jewels and valuables given to Bolsonaro on official trips to Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, and which should have been delivered to the Brazilian state when he left power.
According to investigations, Jair Bolsonaro sold some of these jewels through intermediaries, although some of his collaborators repurchased them after the Brazilian state control bodies demanded their return.
The Public Ministry has now asked the TCU, a control body linked to Congress, Brazil’s parliament, that the former president return all gifts received from foreign authorities on official trips abroad.
The Public Ministry collected press clippings showing Bolsonaro receiving watches, gold-plated sculptures, a samurai helmet, a painting of Solomon’s Temple in Israel and a marble model of the Taj Mahal, among others.
According to the state news agency Agência Brasil, prosecutor Lucas Rocha Furtado argued that these donations belong to public goods because they were received during Bolsonaro’s term (2019-2022).
The former president is being investigated in various civil and criminal cases, including the January 8 coup, when thousands of supporters invaded the Presidency of the Republic, Congress and the Federal Supreme Court in an attempt to overthrow the current president, Luiz Inácio. Silva.
Brazil’s Justice Minister said Monday that he will not “allow” Independence Day, celebrated on September 7, to be a repetition of the attacks on the three powers of the State that took place on January 8.
Flávio Dino also confirmed that the government will mobilize the National Force, an elite police force, to reinforce security in Brasilia during the celebrations on September 7.
The Brazilian minister, however, downplayed the call for protests, saying that the threats of violent acts that have been recorded by far-right groups on social networks are “something residual.”
Flávio Dino also stressed that the authorities will allow peaceful demonstrations, since they have legal support.
Source: TSF
