Bolsonaro’s lawyer says he “never negotiated jewelry”

Frederick Wassef, lawyer for former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), is being investigated in the Federal Police operation that investigates the sale of Saudi watches. Wassef released a statement claiming that he had never sold or offered any jewelry and that he learned of their existence only this year in press releases.

The PF investigates the case of a Rolex watch that was received as a gift by Bolsonaro in 2019 on his trip to Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Wassef was searched and apprehended last Friday (11). The authorities point the investigations to the trio: Frederick Wassef, the former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid and his father, the army reserve general, Mauro Lorena Cid.

Wassef’s note underscores his innocence,” the first time I became aware of the existence of the jewels was in early 2023 through the press, when I called Jair Bolsonaro and he authorized me as his lawyer to give interviews and issue a press release. Before that, I never knew of the existence of jewelry or any other gifts received. I never sold any jewelry, offered or owned it. I never participated in any dealings, nor did I assist in any sale, either directly or indirectly. I never participated in or helped in any way anyone to carry out any negotiation or sale”, says the lawyer.

The investigation by the Federal Police points to a partnership between Wassef and Mauro Cid in the repurchase of the jewels. According to the PF, Cid managed to sell the watch, and his father Lourena Cid received the money in his personal account and it was up to Wassef to buy it back. The operation is based on messages exchanged between them.

The investigation also clarifies that “the amounts obtained from the sales of the objects would have been converted into cash and without using the formal banking system, with the aim of hiding their origin”.

Finally, Wassef says he is the victim of a scheme of lies that aims to incriminate him at any cost. “As Bolsonaro’s lawyer, I come to inform you that, once again, I am suffering a campaign of Fake News and lies of all kinds, in addition to contradictory and out of context information. I was falsely accused of having a central role in an alleged sales scheme of jewelry. This is slander that I have been suffering and pure lie. Total setup”.