Bolsonaro Indicted for "Failing to Declare Diamond Jewelry"
July 08, 24
(IDEX Online) - Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro has been indicted by Federal Police over claims he failed to declare diamond jewelry valued at $3.2m, according to an Associated Press report.
An investigation was launched in March 2023 after items including a Chopard diamond necklace, earrings and watch - gifts to him and his wife Michelle from the Saudi government - were seized at Sao Paulo international airport.
Brazilian law requires travelers to declare items worth over $1,000 and pay half their value in tax.
Gifts to the presidential collection are exempt from tax, but police have claimed Bolsonaro pocketed almost $70,000 from the sale of two luxury watches.
The Supreme Court has yet to decide whether to file charges and force Bolsonaro to stand trial.
Bolsonaro, the former far right leader, has faced a raft of accusations since he lost power to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022, from Covid fraud and inciting an uprising at the presidential palace to electoral misdeeds and harassing a humpback whale while riding a jetski.
Pic courtesy Brazil's Federal Revenue Department shows the items seized at Sao Paulo international airport.