Bolsonaro tried to enter the country with jewelry without paying taxes, says newspaper

The government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) would have tried to bring to Brazil illegally, without paying taxes, jewelry (necklace, ring, watch and a pair of earrings) and a watch that, added up, would be worth about R$ 16, 5 million. The pieces were a gift from the government of Saudi Arabia to Bolsonaro and the then first lady Michelle Bolsonaro given after a government entourage went to the Arab country for the meeting called “Initiativa Verde do Middle East”. The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paulo.

At Guarulhos airport, on the way back from the entourage, the jewelry and the watch were located by the Federal Revenue Service with the advisor to the then Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, on October 26, 2021. To enter the country with foreign goods with value above one thousand dollars, the law determines the payment of import tax of 50% of the value of the product. When there is an attempt to omit the goods, as the report narrates that there would have been, a fine of 25% of the value is added to this fee. The products were then confiscated by the Revenue – for Bolsonaro to be able to recover them, he would have to pay more than R$ 12 million.

According to the newspaper, upon learning that the jewels had been seized, Bento Albuquerque, who was also part of the entourage, tried to have the pieces released, without success. Asked about the case, the former minister said he did not know what the package was about, which was closed to be delivered to Bolsonaro.

The report says that there were four attempts by the former president to obtain the release of the parts, involving his own office, the ministries of Economy, Mines and Energy and Foreign Affairs and the military. The last attack would have taken place on December 29, days before the president ended his term.

The federal government could have received the jewelry without paying taxes, but in that case the items would remain in the presidential collection, as state property, and not with Bolsonaro and Michelle, to whom the gifts were addressed. According to a 2016 decision by the Federal Audit Court (TCU), all gifts received by presidents must be returned to the Union’s assets.

Other side

After the publication of the report, Fabio Wajngarten, former head of the Special Secretariat for Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic, responsible for communicating the Bolsonaro campaign for re-election, said, via Twitter, that the entire process of entry of the jewels into the country was documented. at the time and that the documents prove that the gifts would be sent to the presidential collection.

To corroborate the statement, Wajngarten published a letter from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, issued on November 3, 2021 – one week after the seizure of the pieces – addressed to the Federal Revenue, which asks for the release of the items implying that they would be directed to the collection, becoming the property of the Brazilian State.

“Considering the specific condition of the Minister – representative of the President of the Republic; the impossibility of refusing or immediately returning gifts due to current circumstances; and the historical, cultural and artistic values ​​of the offered goods; it is necessary and essential that the collection be given the appropriate legal destination”, says the letter.

The former first lady also used Twitter to speak out about the case. “You mean ‘I have all this’ and I didn’t know? My God! You’re going too far huh?! I am laughing at the inappropriateness of this vexatious press”, said Michelle.