The Federal Prosecution Office asked the Federal Police on Wednesday to investigate BRL 17 million (USD 3.3 million) in donations received by former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro this year. The petition was sent to the Supreme Court, which will decide whether or not to order the feds to enter the case.
Back in June, Bolsonaro’s allies waged a social media campaign to raise funds for Mr. Bolsonaro to pay fines imposed by courts and other officials. For example, he was fined several times by the São Paulo state government for forming crowds and failing to wear a mask in 2021, at the height of the Covid pandemic. The Superior Electoral Court also fined both Mr. Bolsonaro and his campaign for boosting negative ads against his rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.
Left-wing lawmakers, including the chief whip of the Lula administration in Congress, Senator Randolfe Rodrigues, were the ones to request the investigation. As members of the select committee on the January 8 riots, they had access to a document submitted by anti-money laundering enforcement agency Coaf, which reportedly shows “atypical transactions” in Mr. Bolsonaro’s personal bank account and a total influx of over BRL 17 million in the first semester of this year.
According to the lawmakers, the donations were “fundamental for financing putschist demonstrations”. However, the last such relevant demonstration took place on January 8, months before the fundraising campaign started.
Prosecutor Carlos Frederico Santos nonetheless asked the Federal Police to investigate whether the 2023 donations are related to the ongoing “digital militias” case, including whether the recent donors are already investigated.
The “digital militias” case began in 2021 to investigate a criminal organization spreading putschist content on social media. Episodes currently included in that investigation include the Saudi jewels case and the forgery of vaccination records.
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