Bolsonaro will hand over undeclared jewels given to him by Saudis: Report

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro's lawyer said Monday that he will soon hand over to authorities the jewels gifted by Saudi Arabia. Local media reported about the development on the jewels that had entered the country without being declared to tax authorities.

According to a report, tax agents seized a package of jewels in October 2021, valued at $3.2 million. Bolsonaro has been under investigation by the federal police and the Brazilian tax agency, ever since the report was carried out by the newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo. The jewels were found inside the backpack of an official from the Ministry of Mines and Energy who was returning from an official trip to the Middle East.

The former head of the ministry, Bento Albuquerque, said that a second set of jewellery was also not declared by the government delegation at the airport. That package included a watch and a pen by the luxury Swiss brand Chopard.

Bolsonaro withheld a watch, a pen and other luxury items, saying that they were personal gifts and he was within the law, reports said.

The former president's legal teams requested the police that the items be deposited in the care of the court "until a later decision about them," the news outlet G1 said.

A judge on Brazil's Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) had ordered Bolsonaro and Albuquerque last week to give depositions to clarify whether the jewels were personal presents or gifts to the nation and the reason for not properly declaring them.

Bolsonaro is currently in Florida, US, after losing the presidential re-election to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who took office on January 1, 2023. Bolsonaro's defeat led to huge protests in Brazil.

(With inputs from agencies)

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