Brazil: Former president Bolsonaro formally accused over Saudi gifts

BRASILIA: Brazilian federal police on Thursday formally accused former President Jair Bolsonaro of embezzlement for misappropriating state gifts he received while head of state, including luxury items gifted 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.

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In an investigation authorised by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes, police last year searched the homes of military officers who allegedly helped Bolsonaro sell some of the state gifts by Saudi government (jewelry) in the United States.

At the time, Justice Moraes said the items had been sold and the sale had not been declared.

Some of the jewelry, a present for the former first lady, 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.”

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News website G1 reported earlier on Thursday that police had formally accused Bolsonaro.