In November this year, the technical sector of the Brazilian Federal Audit Court (TCU, in Portuguese) released an opinion recommending the immediate return of the gifts former President Jair Bolsonaro received and which were not cataloged, including the jewelry given by Saudi Arabia, seized by the Brazilian Revenue Service in Guarulhos airport in 2021.
The document from November 28 was released by Brazilian newspaper O Globo. Brasil de Fato had access to the opinion forwarded to the Court ministers, who have not yet set a date to judge the case. Only with a decision can the recommendations be implemented, forcing Bolsonaro to return the items.
What does the document say?
In 2016, TCU, the external control agency that supports Congress in inspecting the Executive Power, established norms for the correct destination of official gifts received by the president of the Republic.
That year, the Court ruled that only very personal gifts or those for consumption received by presidents of the Republic could remain with them after the end of the presidential term.
Following the understanding of the issue, the technical sector of the Court considered that the gifts seized in Guarulhos – a jewelry set, a diamond necklace, a pair of earrings, a ring and a wristwatch, as well as other gifts that have come to light since the episode was revealed – are public goods belonging to the Brazilian cultural heritage.
The understanding goes against the thesis presented by Bolsonaro’s defense, which affirmed that at least part of the items he received was of “very personal” use.
Thus, TCU’s technical personnel recommended that all the jewelry and also the guns Bolsonaro received be returned to the Presidency of the Republic for them to be properly cataloged.
In this sense, the technical staff understands that it is up to the TCU to determine that Caixa Econômica Federal (Brazil’s federal savings bank) returns to Bolsonaro the diamond necklace, watch and other items currently in the bank's custody so that he can directly deliver them to the Presidency of the Republic. According to the auditors, it is up to the agency to analyze the classification of the jewelry and guns irregularly incorporated into Bolsonaro's private collection.
About the rifle and the revolver the former president received from the United Arab Emirates, the TCU’s technical personnel suggested that the guns should be handed by the Federal Police (currently keeping the items) directly to the Presidency of the Republic.
The case
Days after travelling to the United States following the defeat in the presidential elections last year, former President Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal party) tried to recover a set of jewelry through official correspondence sent by the then aide Mauro Cid to the Federal Revenue Service.
The initiative did not work. Since then, the former president and his aides have watched things get worse for themselves. First, the Federal Police started an inquiry to investigate an alleged embezzlement scheme of money obtained from gifts the former president received. Now, TCU is working to demand that the gifts be returned.
Jair Bolsonaro supposedly worked to sell official gifts he received during his term as president. / Marcello Casal Jr/ Agência Brasil
Since the jewelry case came to light, at least six procedures have been filed with Brazil’s Federal Audit Court. The court's most recent recommendation originated from a representation by federal deputy Luciene Cavalcante (PSOL, São Paulo state).
Federal Police investigate alleged embezzlement scheme
Besides TCU, the Federal Police is also investigating the destination that Bolsonaro and his aides tried to give to the official gifts the former president received during his term. The Federal Police suspect that a scheme to sell at least part of the items was established so that Bolsonaro and his aides would take the money.
On August 11 this year, the Federal Police started an operation to investigate the alleged scheme and carried out search and seizure warrants in Brasília, São Paulo and Niterói (Rio de Janeiro state). According to what was released about the operation at the time, the suspicion is that the group supposedly tried to hide the money received as payment for the gifts.
According to what was released about the operation on the day it started, the following items were involved in the scheme: a set of men's items from the Chopard brand, including a pen, a ring, a pair of cufflinks, an Arabic rosary and a wristwatch, gifts from Saudi Arabia in 2021; a jewelry kit, containing a ring, a pen, cufflinks, a rosary and a white gold Rolex watch, given to Bolsonaro by Saudi Arabia in 2019; a sculpture of a golden boat without any identification of origin to date, and a sculpture of a golden palm tree, delivered by Bahrain to the then President Bolsonaro in 2021; and a Patek Philippe wristwatch, probably received from Bahrain also in 2021.
The people targeted by the investigation about the supposed embezzlement scheme include Bolsonaro’s former aide Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid and his father, retired Army General Mauro Cesar Lourena Cid; Osmar Crivelatti, who is also a former aide and currently is one of the personal assistants chosen by Bolsonaro from the quota he is entitled to as former president; and lawyer Frederick Wassef, who previously worked for the Bolsonaro family.
Mauro Cid, who is also investigated in other episodes, had been in prison since May this year, and decided to collaborate with the authorities and close a plea bargain with the Federal Police, which is investigating the information he shared. With the plea bargain, he was released. However, he still needs to comply with some requirements, such as wearing an ankle monitor, not communicating with the other people under investigation and being removed from his duties in the Army.
The inquiry is being carried out under secrecy and, recently, the Federal Police had support from the FBI to investigate the sale of jewelry in the United States, where the group allegedly sold a Rolex wristwatch Bolsonaro had received while president and bought the item back to return to authorities after the scandal came to light.
Edited by: Thalita Pires
