Bolsonaro questions TCU about where to return jewelry – 03/20/2023 – Politics

The defense of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) asked the TCU (Tribunal de Contas da União) to inform the exact location and deadline for the return of luxury items that he received during his term and that were requested by the body in a collegiate decision in the Wednesday (15).

In a document sent to the court this Monday (20), the former president’s defense exposed the uncertainty after different bodies considered delivery in different places. By TCU’s decision, it should be done at the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic. The Public Ministry, however, later suggested other institutions.

Bolsonaro’s defense said that it is “essential that the correct definition of the appropriate location be informed to ensure that there is no confusion or misunderstandings that could compromise the fair resolution of the case”.

He also asked for “clarification of the final term for the delivery in question”.

On Wednesday, the TCU determined that Bolsonaro should deliver within five days to the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic the jewelry he received as a gift from Saudi Arabia and the weapons he brought back in 2019 from a trip to the Middle East.

A day later, however, the deputy attorney general of the Public Ministry at TCU Lucas Furtado asked the court to evaluate the possibility of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic delegating custody of the material to the specialized pawn department of Caixa Econômica Federal.

He justified that this body would have experience in evaluating, guarding and monitoring “high value jewels entrusted to it”. As for the weapons, Furtado asked that they be handed over to the Federal Police, or some other public department with experience in guarding and handling this type of weapon.

“In view of the high value of the public goods in question, which can exceed R$ 17 million, and considering that the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic did not have the opportunity to previously manifest itself in the case file, I believe that flexibility can be granted to that organ of the Presidency of the Republic – always in favor of the reinforced and specialized security that must be observed in the custody of this valuable public collection”, he claimed.

The request has not yet been evaluated by the ministers and the rapporteur of the case, Minister Augusto Nardes. Wednesday’s decision was taken unanimously by the court’s six ministers who voted in the session.

A proposal was also included for an order to be issued to the Federal Revenue Service to forward the jewels that may be with the body to the General Secretariat of the Presidency, as soon as the bureaucratic procedures and investigation are completed.

“Request from the Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil the set of jewels retained by the customs authority for incorporation into public assets, in view of the unquestionable nature of a public good of high value, insusceptible of incorporation in a private collection”, says the ruling.

Minister Walton Alencar, dean of the TCU, highlighted that the measure was also a way of preserving the public interest and safeguarding standards of morality within the public administration. Alencar said that the jewels must be cataloged and become part of the Brazilian heritage.

Bolsonaro’s defense had sent a letter to the TCU on Monday (13) asking the court to keep the articles until the investigations were completed, determining the designation of date and place for their presentation.

Nardes, however, stated that there is no court case law for the court to receive the jewels and that such an action would not be applicable to the TCU. The vote was followed by the other ministers, who still ask Bolsonaro to forward proof of delivery of the material to the General Secretariat of the Presidency.