Good morning! Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the president’s eldest son, is under scrutiny. House Speaker dragged into kickback scandal. GDP growth estimates continue to shrink.
President’s son under scrutiny
A state court in Rio de Janeiro lifted Senator Flávio Bolsonaro’s bank secrecy—as well as that of 88 of his former aides. The ruling was signed on April 24 but only revealed yesterday evening. The president’s eldest son is suspected of running a money laundering scheme while serving as a state congressman in Rio. Investigators believe that his staffers were forced to surrender part of their salaries to the politician, which is illegal.
Investigators will scrutinize Mr. Bolsonaro’s bank statements dated between January 2007 and December 2018. Another major target of the probe is Fabricio Queiroz, the senator’s former advisor and driver. Last year, Brazil’s money laundering enforcement agency identified “atypical” cash transfers to Mr. Queiroz’s bank account, totaling BRL 1.2m in 2016—many coincided with the paydays of public servants in Mr. Bolsonaro’s cabinet.
The former aid also made 176 “suspicious” cash withdrawals—a strategy often used to conceal the source and recipient of the funds—and even signed a BRL 24,000 check to...