After the scandal, Jair Bolsonaro hands over the jewels that Saudi Arabia gave him when he was president

In the midst of the scandal that could have both political and judicial backlash, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro this Friday handed over extremely valuable diamond jewelry donated by Saudi Arabiafor which he is under investigation on suspicion of having imported them illegally.

A representative of the former president appeared at the state-owned Caixa Economica Federal bank and left a box of precious stones at one of its branches in Brasilia, the bank’s press office told the Associated Press. A government watchdog on Wednesday gave Bolsonaro five days to hand over the precious stones he had received when he was president.

Authorities are investigating whether these items were a public gift that Bolsonaro improperly tried to prevent it from being added to the presidential collection, or a private gift that Bolsonaro tried to smuggle into Brazil without paying taxes.

The Brazilian press reported weeks ago about these jewels together with others seized at the international airport of São Paulo. The seized jewels, estimated to be worth several million dollars, have not been declared to the tax authorities.

Bolsonaro’s former Minister of Mines and Energy Bento Albuquerque, on an official visit to Saudi Arabia in October 2021, assured that a Saudi government “envoy” delivered two parcels to his delegation at the end of the trip, as revealed to the newspaper O Stato di São Paulo.

Back in Brazil, customs officers at São Paulo’s Guarulhos airport found that an Albuquerque assistant was carrying one of the boxes in his backpack, without declaring it.

Officials discovered the package was filled with diamond jewelry and seized it for non-payment of required import duties.

As can be seen from the video surveillance images broadcast by local TV, the former minister assured that the jewels were intended for the first lady Michelle Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro’s administration has reportedly attempted at least eight times to get customs inspectors to release the jewels, with one last attempt on the penultimate day of his term.

The second package slipped through customs and was handed over to Bolsonaro, who allegedly kept it, according to Albuquerque.

Bolsonaro reacted in the early days of the scandal: “They’re accusing me of a gift I didn’t ask for, nor did I receive. There is no illegality on my part,” he told CNN Brazil.

Both packages contained jewelry from the luxury Swiss brand Chopard.

In the first was a necklace, a ring, a watch and a pair of earrings, valued at $3.2 million.

The second contained a watch, a ring, a pen, a pair of cufflinks and a rosary, a set estimated at $75,000 according to Brazilian media.

The former president, who is in the United States, where he has resided since Lula da Silva took office on January 1, announced that will return to Brazil next Thursdayaccording to the newspaper Folha de São Paulo.