Wassef admits buying Rolex to return to the Union and says he used his own money

Lawyer Frederick Wassef admitted this Tuesday (15) to having bought the Rolex watch sold by allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). During a press conference, Wassef said that he went to the United States on March 14 of this year and used his own money to get the piece back. According to the lawyer, former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) did not request the repurchase of the watch.

“I bought the watch. The decision was mine. I used my resources. I have the licit and legal origin of my resources. I have an account opened in the United States at a bank in Miami and I used my money to pay for the watch. So, my objective when I bought this watch was exactly to return it to the Union, to the federal government of Brazil, to the Presidency of the Republic”, she said.

“I made the decision to buy. It was requested. I bought. And I made it to Brazil. If you want to ask for details, which flight, what time did you enter, who did you give it to, at this moment I cannot speak”, he added. Wassef stated that he repurchased the watch after the Federal Audit Court (TCU) determined the return of the piece to the Union.

“I used my money to pay for the watch. My goal when I bought the watch was to comply with the decision of the Federal Court of Auditors”, he said. The lawyer pointed out that the purchase, worth US$ 49,000, was declared to the Federal Revenue Service. He did not explain who would have requested the repurchase of the piece.

According to investigations by the Federal Police, Wassef would have been scheduled to buy back the watch. The lawyer denied having participated in a “rescue operation” of the piece.

Last Friday (11), the lawyer was one of the targets of the PF operation on suspicion of involvement in a scheme that would have diverted official gifts received by Bolsonaro. On Monday (13), Wassef said, in a note, that he only found out about the existence of the jewels this year when he saw articles published in the press.