Brazil’s Bolsonaro stays silent in police probe of undeclared Saudi, Bahrain jewellery gifts

BRASILIA - Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and his wife Michelle chose to remain silent when they appeared before Federal Police on Thursday to testify in an investigation into

jewellery that they received from Arab heads of state

and never declared.

They were called to testify at police headquarters in Brasilia, along with Mr Bolsonaro's former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid, his father, a retired army general, and another military officer who was a presidential aide.

To justify their silence, Mr Bolsonaro's defence team argued that the case should be heard in Sao Paulo, where some of the jewellery was seized by customs agents at Guarulhos airport, and not in the jurisdiction of Brasilia.

The gifts, which comprised jewellery, expensive watches and gold-plated statuettes from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, were never declared and came to light only when Mr Bolsonaro tried to recover the batch that was seized by customs, police investigations showed.

After the presidential gifts became a matter of public knowledge, a court ordered the couple to hand them over to the state.

Bolsonaro aides and his lawyer then sought to buy back items that had been sold in the United States, the police said.

Prosecutors said the correct jurisdiction for the case is Brasilia, where the investigation was ordered by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

It was the fifth time that Mr Bolsonaro has been summoned by police to make depositions in a series of investigations, ranging from his attacks on Brazil's electoral system to his suspected role in inciting his supporters to storm government buildings to protest his election defeat.

The far-right figure lost in October to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who took office on Jan 1.

The presidential offices, the Supreme Court and Congress were invaded and vandalised by Bolsonaro supporters one week later.

Mr Bolsonaro and his wife Michelle spent the last two days preparing with their team of lawyers and advisers, officials in his political party said.

Both opted to remain silent, however, for fear that his former aide Cid, who has been in jail since May, could contradict their account and implicate the couple by seeking a plea bargain.

"Everyone is very worried about what could have come out if Cid confesses," said one party source with direct knowledge of the situation.

Cid, who handled the Bolsonaro finances, was arrested for his suspected involvement in a scheme to provide Mr Bolsonaro with false vaccine cards during the Covid-19 pandemic. REUTERS