Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro has been officially charged with embezzlement of jewelry he received during his term as head of state, according to an article on the news website G1. The jewelry, worth $3.2 million (€2.96 million), was reportedly given to Bolsonaro and his wife as a gift by the Saudi Arabian government and other sources.
The charge comes after some of these items were discovered in the luggage of a government employee returning from Riyadh in October 2021 and confiscated by customs officials at Sao Paolo International Airport. Bolsonaro’s successor, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, called for an investigation into the matter, with one of his cabinet ministers describing Bolsonaro’s actions as “smuggling.”
Bolsonaro’s lawyer has not yet responded to requests for comments on the matter. Last year, police raided the homes of several military officers who allegedly assisted Bolsonaro in selling jewelry to the United States. At the time, authorities stated that the pieces had been sold without proper reporting. This marks the second time Bolsonaro is facing criminal accusations, with the first incident being in March when he was charged with falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination records.