Ajit Karn
Brasilia: A Brazilian court ruled on Wednesday that former president Jair Bolsonaro has five days to return the expensive jewellery he received as a gift from Saudi Arabia and ordered an audit of all official gifts he received during his time in office.
The Federal Court of Accounts (TCU), which supervises government coffers, also ordered the ex-army commander to turn over to the presidential palace collection two firearms he received as gifts from the United Arab Emirates in 2019.
According to Brazilian law, public officials may only keep gifts that are “highly personal and of minimal monetary value,” said the court’s president, Bruno Dantas, in a public hearing, giving Bolsonaro “five days to return all items involved in this case to… the proper owner, the presidential palace.”
The unanimous ruling of the court is the latest chapter in a drama that has dominated headlines in Brazil since allegations surfaced earlier this month that Bolsonaro and his wife attempted to unlawfully import jewellery worth millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia.
The incident has become a legal and political headache for the ex-president, who is presently in the United States and is expected to return to Brazil shortly in an effort to lead the opposition to his leftist successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro, who denies misconduct, proposed through his attorneys that he turn over the gemstones to authorities pending the outcome of ongoing investigations.
In October 2021, the newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo reported that customs officers intercepted an aide to Bolsonaro’s then-mines and energy minister as he attempted to enter Brazil with a knapsack containing diamond jewellery from the Swiss luxury brand Chopard.
It was subsequently discovered that Bolsonaro had concealed a second set of Chopard jewels that entered Brazil undetected after the same journey.
Those entering Brazil with products worth more than $1,000 must declare them and pay hefty import duties.
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According to media reports, the first set of gemstones is worth at least $3.2 million and the second at least $75,000.
They could have also entered tax-free as official gifts to the country. But then they would have been part of the collection of the presidential palace, not the first family.
