World News | Brazil’s Bolsonaro to return jewels from Saudi Arabia

SAO PAULO, March 23 (AP) Brazil’s government regulators voted Wednesday to give former President Jair Bolsonaro five working days to return to authorities a set of jewelry he received from Saudi Arabia in 2021.

All nine members of the government watchdog body voted in favor of requiring Bolsonaro to hand over the jewels to the state-owned Caixa Economica federal bank in the capital Brasilia.

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According to the government watchdog, the five days began counting as soon as Bolsonaro’s lawyers were formally notified, but that did not happen.

Another set of jewelry from Saudi Arabia, estimated to be worth millions of dollars, was also shipped to Bolsonaro but was confiscated by customs at Sao Paulo International Airport, according to one of Bolsonaro’s former ministers.

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Bolsonaro, who has been in the United States since leaving office in January, is under preliminary police investigation at home since Brazilian media began reporting on the jewels earlier this month.

The Federal Court of Auditors, the legislative branch watchdog that oversees actions by Brazil’s executive branch, also ruled that Bolsonaro must hand over some of the weapons he received from the United Arab Emirates to the president’s collection.

Bolsonaro did not declare any set of jewelry to the tax authorities. Legal experts say he could face prosecution in the case.

It is unclear whether the diamonds were a gift from Saudi authorities.

Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Frederick Wassef, said in a statement on March 7 that the former president received the shipment in a “very personal” way and denied any Misconduct.

The government watchdog rejected that argument in its decision on Wednesday. It said the jewels had to be returned due to “high commodity value and should not be included in private collections”.

The watchdog decided earlier this month that it would investigate every gift the former Brazilian president received at the end of his term in office. It will also audit collections Bolsonaro has received since taking office in 2019. (Associated Press)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)