Prosecutors ask to freeze Bolsonaro’s assets

Graffitied façade of the Supreme Court building. Photo: Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom/ABr

Prosecutors from the Federal Accounts Court asked that the court, a sort of audit tribunal that monitors public spending, freeze assets belonging to former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Their request is motivated by the terrorist acts perpetrated in Brasília on Sunday, when throngs of far-right radicals ransacked government buildings — destroying offices, damaging works of art, and leading to millions in losses.

The request also targets suspended Brasília Governor Ibaneis Rocha and his former top security official, Anderson Torres. It mentions “other responsible parties, notably those who financed the illegal acts.” The Accounts Court is only expected to analyze the request after the damage to the public purse is fully assessed.

On Monday, prosecutors also asked the Accounts Court to identify the people responsible for the attack and order them to compensate the government. In the Senate alone, the repairs should cost around BRL 4 million (USD 763,000). That is just the tip of the iceberg.

For example, ‘Mulatas,’ a work by celebrated Brazilian painter Eduardo Di Cavalcanti that adorns the Great Hall in the Planalto Palace, was slashed in seven different places. The value of the painting is estimated at BRL 8 million (USD 1.5 million), but it could fetch five times that at an auction.

Bruno Dantas, the head of the Accounts Court, said on Twitter that the riots must not be tolerated and called for the rigorous punishment of “rioters, agitators, and financiers” of the capital storming. “One must not compromise with coup-mongers.”

Mr. Bolsonaro has been in Florida since December 30, leaving the country two days before the end of his term. A security detail was provided to him by the federal government until the end of the month, and it remains unclear when he will return to Brazil.

The former president is trying to dodge responsibility for Sunday’s events, after being personally blamed by his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The Brazilian Report has shown that the riots are a direct byproduct of Mr. Bolsonaro’s years-long strategy to sow division and distrust in Brazil.

Amanda Audi

Amanda Audi is a journalist specializing in politics and human rights. She is the former executive director of Congresso em Foco and worked as a reporter for The Intercept Brasil, Folha de S. Paulo, O Globo, Gazeta do Povo, Poder360, among others. In 2019, she won the Comunique-se Award for best-written media reporter and won the Mulher Imprensa award for web journalism in 2020