Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro was questioned Wednesday about diamond jewelry gifts he accepted during his presidency.
Authorities are trying to determine if any irregularities were committed when the jewelry was imported into Brazil.
It’s not clear if Bolsonaro answered investigator’s questions or exercised his right to remain silent in what was reportedly an hours-long investigation. The former president has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the gifts.
He is also under investigation for involvement in the January attack on state institutions in the capital, Brasilia, by his supporters in protest at the election results.
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What do we know about the gifts?
The diamonds in question were gifts from Saudi Arabia that Bolsonaro kept. Federal police are trying to determine whether the gifts were public gifts or private gifts to the former president.
Had they been public gifts, Bolsonaro could not have kept them now that he is no longer president. And if the gifts were private, according to Brazilian tax laws, the former president had to pay a tax of 50% of their value.
The former president returned to Brazil last week for the first time since his election defeat. He fled into exile in Florida shortly before his successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office.
rmt/rc (AP, Portal)