Brazil’s Federal Police searched the home of Jair Bolsonaro’s former head of presidential archives, Marcelo Vieira, this Friday. The move is part of an investigation into the former president’s attempt to smuggle jewelry gifted to him by governments of Gulf countries.
Feds confiscated Mr. Vieira’s cell phone, with a view to analyzing his conversations with Colonel Mauro Cid, one of Mr. Bolsonaro’s closest aides, who was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of defrauding Covid vaccine records.
Col. Cid attempted to recover the jewelry, valued at BRL 16 million (USD 3.3 million), which had been withheld by the Federal Revenue Service. He sent a military official to retrieve the gifts in December, in the final days of the Bolsonaro government, and participated in a voice call with Mr. Vieira and the former president on the matter.
In a statement already given to federal authorities, Mr. Vieira said that the former president asked him and Col. Cid to sign a letter requesting the jewelry’s clearance. He allegedly replied that his job was to classify the assets of the president’s archive, and not to request items.
Mauro Cid was also in the news this week after the leak of audio messages he received from two military officers close to Mr. Bolsonaro, discussing a coup d’etat. It is not clear if he informed the former president of their plans. Col. Cid is also being investigated due to the large sums of money found in his home and bank account.
The jewelry investigation is one of a long list of investigations targeting Mr. Bolsonaro, and could hurt his plans to return to politics in the coming years. He is responding to two dozen other inquiries.
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