Jewelry case: Former Revenue Secretary denies interference – 07/03/2023 – Power

Former Federal Revenue Secretary Julio Cesar Gomes denied this Tuesday (7) having interfered in favor of releasing the jewelry seized at Guarulhos airport to then-president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

In a note, he states that the request made in an official letter by the ex-president’s aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, “did not have as its object its release to anyone, but the donation by the Federal Revenue for the incorporation of the items to the historical documentation, organ of the Presidency of the Republic”.

He also says that, after internal discussion on the subject, it was concluded that the delivery of goods to the Presidency depended on a request from the Special Secretariat for Administration, and not on a request from the aide-de-camp.

Gomes declared that he informed about the decision before being appointed attache at the Brazilian Embassy in Paris.

“Also on December 30, I communicated the decision to the authority that signed the letter [tenente-coronel Cid], prior to my appointment as an attaché. Thus, the formal act for the destination of goods –ADM– has not even started. I reiterate my compliments to the Guarulhos airport team, duly expressed at the time”, says the former secretary.

Gomes’ performance became the target of suspicion after the G1 website revealed that the former secretary sent an email to the Revenue Superintendence in São Paulo requesting compliance with the letter in which Cid asked for the delivery of the jewels “to this body of the Union”.

He claims that the message he sent to the superintendence was intended to initiate the analysis of the case.

“Thus, starting the process with the preliminary analysis, the more in-depth technical analysis began. After studies and extensive discussions on the subject, it was concluded that the incorporation into a body of the Presidency of the Republic would be the responsibility of the Special Secretariat for Administration or a higher body .”

Gomes confirms that he spoke on the phone with the military designated by Cid to pick up the jewels on December 29, but claims that he warned him that the assessment of the case by the Revenue had not yet been concluded.

“Regarding the telephone conversation on December 29, I only informed the designated public servant that the incorporation of the items was still under analysis and, therefore, would not take place on that date”, said the former secretary, in a note.