World News | Brazil’s Bolsonaro turns over undeclared jewelry to authorities

BRASILIA, March 24 (AP) — Representatives of former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday handed over a set of diamond jewelry he received during his presidency to a national bank, as government regulators investigate the incidents. Ordered as a gift.

Federal police and prosecutors are investigating whether the goods brought into the country from Saudi Arabia were public gifts that Bolsonaro improperly tried to prevent from being included in the president’s public collection, or that Bolsonaro tried to sneak into Brazil without paying taxes personal gift.

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The Senate’s Transparency Committee is also investigating whether the sale of the refinery by Brazil’s state oil giant was linked to the jewels.

National bank Caixa Economica Federal received the box of gems Friday at a branch in the capital Brasilia, the bank’s press office told The Associated Press.

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A representative also handed over a firearm that Bolsonaro had donated from authorities in the United Arab Emirates, according to the federal police press office.

On Wednesday, a federal watchdog gave Bolsonaro five days to turn over gems and guns he received during his presidency.

Earlier this month, Brazilian media began reporting on the jewels, along with another seized at Sao Paulo International Airport.

The confiscated suit included earrings, necklaces, rings and watches from Swiss brand Chopard and was estimated to be worth millions of dollars. Neither set was declared to the tax authorities.

Documents and video clips released by local media appear to show that alleged Bolsonaro emissaries tried unsuccessfully to retrieve the confiscated jewels several times until days before the end of his presidency.

Bolsonaro, who has denied any wrongdoing related to the gifts, has been in the United States since late December, just days before his presidency ends.

The gifts add to the legal stakes already surrounding right-wing populist politicians.

He is also under investigation for his involvement in the rampage of his supporters in the nation’s capital after leaving office, as well as for his many actions during the presidential campaign he lost last fall. (Associated Press)

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