Bolsonaro government tried to illegally bring jewelry worth R$ 16.5 million for Michelle, says newspaper – 03/03/2023 – Politics

The Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government tried to illegally bring to Brazil a set of jewelry and a watch valued at 3 million euros (about R$ 16.5 million), according to a report published this Friday (3) by the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.

According to the publication, the luxury items were in the backpack of a military man, who at the time was an advisor to Minister Bento Albuquerque (Mines and Energy), and were a gift from the Saudi Arabian government to the then First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro.

On a social network, Michelle denied being the owner of the jewels, but did not give further explanation: “You mean ‘I have all this’ and I didn’t know? My God! [sic] vexing,” he posted on Instagram.

The soldier was part of the presidential entourage that had been to the Arab country in October 2021. The seizure took place at the international airport of Guarulhos, in São Paulo.

A Sheet sought the IRS, but still received no response. Lawyer Frederick Wassef, defender of the former president, told Estado de S. Paulo that he would not comment.

According to the newspaper, after the Revenue had retained the jewels, Bento Albuquerque tried to release them, when he informed that the objects were a gift from the Saudis to Michelle.

Goods purchased abroad with a value greater than US$ 1,000 (a little over R$ 5,000) must be declared to the Revenue upon entry into Brazil.

When they exceed this amount, they are subject to import tax, which is 50% on the surplus.

The Revenue agent retained the jewels even with Albuquerque’s intervention, according to O Estado de S. Paulo. The newspaper also reports that there were other attempts by the Bolsonaro government to recover the gifts from the Saudis, and three ministries would have been mobilized for this (Economy, Mines and Energy and Itamaraty).

On December 28, 2022, days before the end of his term, Bolsonaro sent a letter to the Revenue Service asking for the articles to be sent to the Presidency of the Republic, according to the newspaper.

Bolsonaro traveled to Florida, in the United States, days before the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), on January 1st. In this way, he ignored the democratic rite of symbolically transferring power to his successor.

Michelle accompanied him on the trip, but has already returned to Brazil. Bolsonaro remains in the US.

During the inspection of the Albuquerque advisor’s luggage, says the publication, Revenue agents found a 30-centimeter golden horse sculpture. Inside, there was a case with the jewels, which were accompanied by a certificate from Chopard – a luxury jewelery and watch brand.

On the second (27), the Sheet showed that the head of intelligence at the Federal Revenue at the beginning of the Bolsonaro administration accessed and copied confidential tax data from the coordinator of the investigations into the alleged “cracks” scheme (the then Attorney General of Justice of Rio Eduardo Gussem) and from two politicians who had broken with the presidential family, businessman Paulo Marinho and former minister Gustavo Bebianno.

Official internal government documents obtained by Sheet and testimonials from people directly related to the case show that Ricardo Pereira Feitosa, then general coordinator of Research and Investigation at the Revenue (a sector that takes care of the agency’s intelligence), unmotivatedly accessed the data on July 10, 16 and 18, 2019, the first year of the Bolsonaro administration (2019-2022).

There was no formal investigation underway at the Revenue Service against these three people, which resulted in the subsequent opening of an internal investigation and disciplinary proceedings against Feitosa.

The former intelligence chief denies wrongdoing.

Presenters Luciano Huck and William Bonner, from TV Globo, singer Anitta, participants of the reality show Big Brother Brasil and even former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) had tax data accessed irregularly, shows an unprecedented document from the Federal Revenue that The Sheet had access.

The names of these taxpayers are on the list presented in April 2021 by the Federal Revenue to the TCU (Union Court of Auditors) in the course of an investigation into inquiries without justification to tax data.

The cases occurred from 2018 to 2020. Although the date coincided with the irregular accesses made by the then head of intelligence at the Revenue against Bolsonaro family disaffections (2019), the irregularities found are not directly related to this episode.