CPI triggers PGR to investigate stones delivered to Bolsonaro – 08/05/2023 – Power

The January 8 CPI wants the PGR (Attorney General’s Office) to investigate the origin and whereabouts of “precious stones” that were delivered to former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) at the end of October last year in Teófilo Otoni (MG).

An exchange of emails between officials from the Presidency’s assistance of orders points out that the former representative would have received, during his visit to the city, an envelope and a box with precious stones for the then first lady, Michelle Bolsonaro.

In the documents held by the CPI, former advisor Cleiton Henrique Holzschuk reports that, at the request of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, one of Bolsonaro’s main assistants, “the stones must not be registered and must be delivered by hand to him [Cid]”.

“It was kept in the big safe, 01 (one) envelope containing precious stones for the PR [presidente] and 01 (one) box of precious stones for the PD [primeira-dama]received at Teófilo Otoni on 10/26/22”, reports Holzschuk.

He also stated that “Sgt Furriel” –referring to Sergeant Marcos Vinícius Pereira Furriel— would be “aware of the matter” and that he could resolve doubts.

Cid is the target of investigations at the STF (Federal Supreme Court) and at other instances, including in the case of jewelry sent to the former president by Saudi Arabian authorities. The soldier has been arrested since the beginning of May by order of Minister Alexandre de Moraes.

In the document sent to the PGR, parliamentarians question whether the former president committed the crime of embezzlement, and claim that the precious stones are not included in the list of 1,055 items officially received by him in the four years of his mandate.

“It is known that, on the day of receipt, 4 days before the second round of the 2023 Presidential Elections, Bolsonaro was campaigning in Teófilo Otoni”, says the text of the investigation request.

“That is, the precious stones were not received in a protocol ceremony. Therefore, the question is: who presented Jair Bolsonaro as a gift? What is the reason for the refusal to register the gift?”

Sought by his former Communications Secretary Fabio Wajngarten, who is a lawyer and acts in his defense, Bolsonaro did not appear until the publication of this report.

Lawyer Josino Correia Junior, a resident of Teófilo Otoni, told the Sheet that it was he who gave the gift to Bolsonaro during the passage of the then candidate for re-election through the city in the southeast of Minas —known as the capital of precious stones.

Correia said that he wanted to present the former president with a souvenir from the city. “They are semiprecious stones. I bought them on the eve of his coming to the city. They cost R$400,” he said.

He recorded a video with a report on the case in an area of ​​the city that concentrates branch establishments in which he claims that the stones are “from legal exploitation”.

According to the lawyer, the set delivered to Bolsonaro is composed of blue topazes, citrines (yellow stone) and prasiolites (green), packed in a case. There are four stones each.

He said that the youngest son also presented Bolsonaro with some crystals and amethysts from a personal collection. And he said that the two volumes would be destined for the former president himself, whose name would have been engraved on the case.

belt sent to Sheet the photo of the moment of delivery of the gifts. The image is cropped. His son also appears in the clipping with an envelope in hand.

The photo published by the lawyer on his profile on social networks also shows the governor of Minas Gerais, Romeu Zema (Novo), and General Walter Braga Netto, then candidate for vice president on Bolsonaro’s ticket.

Federal deputy Jandira Feghali (PC do B-RJ), who raised the issue at the CPI, claims that the email says “precious stones” and not “semi-precious”, and that there are no guarantees either that they are the same stones or that the lawyer is telling the truth.

“What he says he had in the box, no one saw. Has anyone seen it? Has anyone opened that box to find out if he’s telling the truth? Third: is it just this box? Is there more box? That is, this statement, for me, doesn’t exist no meaning,” he says.

“It’s the order handover email and one advising the other: don’t register. On November 11, that message disappeared. In other words, the stones must have left the safe. What was their destination? I don’t know.”

Experts consulted by the report claim that it is difficult to estimate the value of the case, given the variables that involve the market for precious and semi-precious stones — such as size, color intensity, cutting and purity.

Shopkeepers in Teófilo Otoni say that the carat of blue topaz varies, on average, from US$ 7 (about R$ 35 at the current exchange rate) to US$ 15 (the equivalent of approximately R$ 73), depending on the shade of blue in the stone.

Citrine carats, according to merchants, are traded in the city for between R$20 and R$30. Prasiolite carats range from R$10 to R$30. 10, for example, would cost around R$ 200.