Brazil’s Federal Police have indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro on charges of money laundering and criminal association related to undeclared diamonds he received from Saudi Arabia during his presidency, according to a source familiar with the case.
Another source confirmed the indictment but did not specify the exact charges. Both sources requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The police report with the indictment has not yet been submitted to Brazil’s Supreme Court. Once received, the prosecutor-general, Paulo Gonet, will review the document and decide whether to press charges and bring Bolsonaro to trial.
This indictment significantly escalates the stakes in the ongoing investigations into Bolsonaro, a polarizing figure whose critics view these probes as justice served, while his supporters see them as politically motivated persecution.
Bolsonaro and his legal team have denied any wrongdoing in this and other investigations. These include allegations of ordering an aide to falsify his COVID-19 vaccination certificate, for which he has already been indicted, and inciting an uprising in Brasilia on January 8, 2023, aimed at overthrowing his successor.
In the previous year, Federal Police accused Bolsonaro of attempting to smuggle diamond jewelry worth an estimated $3 million and selling two luxury watches. Police reported in August that Bolsonaro received cash from selling two luxury watches gifted by Saudi Arabia, valued at nearly $70,000. Brazilian law mandates citizens to declare goods worth over $1,000 brought into the country by air and to pay a tax on amounts exceeding that threshold.
Had the jewelry been a gift from Saudi Arabia to Brazil, it would have been exempt from tax. However, personal retention by Bolsonaro required it to be added to the presidential collection. The investigation revealed that in June 2022, one of Bolsonaro’s top aides, Mauro Cid, sold a Rolex and a Patek Philippe watch in the U.S. for $68,000. Cid later signed a plea deal and confirmed these details.
Bolsonaro continues to enjoy strong support from his political base. In February, approximately 185,000 supporters gathered in Sao Paulo to protest what Bolsonaro describes as political persecution.
Meanwhile, critics, especially from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s party, have welcomed the progress of these investigations and have called for Bolsonaro’s arrest.
In a separate case last year, Brazil’s top electoral court ruled that Bolsonaro abused presidential powers during his 2022 reelection campaign, making him ineligible for elections until 2030. This case centered on a meeting where Bolsonaro used government resources to claim that the country’s electronic voting system was rigged.
Bolsonaro is expected to meet Argentine President Javier Milei this weekend at a conservative conference in Balneario Camboriu, in southern Brazil.
