The former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been officially charged with embezzling jewelry he received during his term as head of state, according to an article on the news website G1. The valuable jewelry, worth $3.2 million (€2.96 million), was given to him and his wife as a gift by the Saudi Arabian government and other sources. Some of these items were discovered in the luggage of a government employee returning from Riyadh in October 2021 and were confiscated by customs officials at Sao Paolo International Airport.
Bolsonaro’s successor, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, called for an investigation into the matter, with one of his cabinet ministers describing Bolsonaro’s actions as “smuggling.” Bolsonaro’s lawyer has not yet responded to requests for comments on the matter. This is not the first time Bolsonaro is facing criminal accusations; last year, police raided the homes of several military officers who allegedly assisted him in selling jewelry to the United States. At the time, authorities stated that the pieces had been sold without proper reporting.