Bolsonaro to return to Brazil on March 30, party announces
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro speaks at the Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC) conference in Maryland, March 4, 2023.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for the United States two days before the end of his mandate, will return to his country on March 30, his party and his press service announced on Friday.
His entourage also confirmed that the former far-right head of state had sent the authorities on Friday, through his lawyers, jewelry given to him by the government of Saudi Arabia.
Jair Bolsonaro, 68, is accused of smuggling the jewelry into Brazil, a scandal that has been making headlines in recent weeks in the media.
The x27; ex-president of extreme right will arrive in Brasilia on Thursday March 30 at 7:30 am local time, indicated on social networks the Liberal Party (PL), with which he disputed – and lost – the presidential election of x27;October against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
He had left Brazil on December 30, two days before the inauguration of Lula, to whom he should have given the presidential sash, to join Florida.
“I will return to normal activity, I will work for the PL, travel around Brazil and do politics. »
— Jair Bolsonaro, in an interview broadcast on the TV channel Record
Mr. Bolsonaro again denied any impropriety over the Saudi jewellery, after being accused of trying to smuggle the gifts into Brazil.
Two boxes were reported from; Saudi Arabia by a delegation of its former Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, after an official visit in which the former president did not take part, in October 2021.
One, a diamond set by Swiss luxury brand Chopard intended for first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, was seized by customs at Guarulhos International Airport, near Sao Paulo .
With an estimated value of 4.4 million Canadian dollars, this adornment was in the backpack of an assistant to the minister and was not ;had not been previously declared.
But Jair Bolsonaro was able to receive another box, containing men's jewelry valued at more than CA$103,000, which had not was detected by customs.
I found out about this story a year later, and my wife found out about it through the press. She has nothing to do with any of this. The box that was for her is at customs, explained the former head of state to TV Record.
Only gifts of a highly personal nature or d& #x27;a minimum monetary value can be kept by the head of state, recalled the Court of Auditors of Brazil (TCU), which last week summoned Mr. Bolsonaro to hand over the jewels in his possession to the authorities .
