BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian federal police on Thursday formally accused former President Jair Bolsonaro of embezzlement for misappropriating jewelry he received while head of state, including luxury items given by the Saudi Arabian government, two police sources said.
This is the second time police have formally accused Bolsonaro of a crime. He was charged in March with forging his COVID-19 vaccine records.
The jewelry, some of it made by Chopard of Switzerland, was valued at $3.2 million and included a diamond necklace, ring, watch and earrings given to Bolsonaro and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government.
Some of the jewelry was seized by customs officials at Sao Paulo’s international airport in October 2021 when it was found in the backpack of a government aide returning from Riyadh.
Bolsonaro’s leftist successor President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for an investigation and one of his cabinet ministers called Bolsonaro’s actions “smuggling.”
Bolsonaro’s lawyer did not return calls requesting comment.
The police officers, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said charges were also brought against former mines and energy minister Bento Albuquerque, whose aide had returned with him from a visit to Riyadh, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid who was allegedly involved in selling jewelry, his lawyer Frederick Wassef and his spokesperson Fabio Wajngarten.
In an investigation authorized by Supreme Court Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes, police last year searched the homes of military officers who allegedly helped Bolsonaro sell some of the jewelry in the United States.
At the time, Justice Moraes said the items had been sold and the sale had not been declared.
News website G1 reported earlier on Thursday that police had formally accused Bolsonaro.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia; writing by Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Editing by Rod Nickel)
