PF summons Bolsonaro’s former minister to testify about jewelry – 03/08/2023 – Politics

The Federal Police subpoenaed former Minister of Mines and Energy Bento Albuquerque and former advisor to the portfolio Marcos André Soeiro in the investigation into the jewelry received by the Brazilian delegation in Saudi Arabia.

The testimonials are scheduled for this Thursday (9).

The former minister of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and the former advisor were on the trip and were responsible for bringing the gifts to Brazil. It was Soeiro who carried the jewelry seized and estimated at R$ 16.5 million.

The investigation was opened by the PF at the request of the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino (PSB). In the letter to the director general of the PF, Andrei Rodrigues, the minister states that attempts to enter with luxury items without a tax declaration “may constitute crimes against the public administration typified in the Penal Code”.

The jewels were seized by the Revenue with Soeiro in October 2021 because goods purchased abroad worth more than US$ 1,000 need to be declared to the Revenue. The case was revealed by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo on Friday (3).

As the advisor had not made the declaration, the Treasury seized the jewels and asked for the payment of the tax or recognition of the condition of the goods as Union property in order to release them.

Documents after the seizure show that the Ministry of Mines and Energy tried, between October and November 2021, to recover the jewels, arguing that they would be analyzed for incorporation “into the private collection of the President of the Republic or the public collection of the Presidency of the Republic”.

After these attempts failed, in December 2022, with Bolsonaro already defeated and a few days away from leaving the Presidency, the last attempt was made to recover the jewels.

Bolsonaro’s aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, even sent a letter to the Revenue Service and sent an advisor to the customs at Guarulhos airport (SP) to try to recover the jewels.

Both initiatives failed and the jewels are still seized.

The entourage led by Bento Albuquerque even brought a second set of jewelry from Saudi Arabia that was not seized by the Revenue.

As shown to Sheetthe other package, which includes a watch, pen, cufflinks, ring and a type of rosary, all from the Swiss diamond brand Chopard and supposedly destined for Bolsonaro, was in the luggage of one of the members of the entourage and was not intercepted by the Revenue.

On the last November 29th, practically a month before Bolsonaro’s term ends, the special advisor of the Ministry of Mines and Energy Antônio Carlos Ramos de Barros Mello delivered the items to the Planalto Palace. In Mello’s version, they were under the custody of the folder.

This case is also being investigated by the PF and is being investigated by the Federal Revenue.

This Wednesday (8), Bolsonaro confirmed to CNN that this second package of jewels was incorporated into his private collection and denied illegality.