Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been indicted by the Federal Police for allegedly receiving undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia during his presidency, alongside charges of money laundering and criminal association. This marks his second indictment since leaving office, following accusations of falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination record. Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing, dismissing the charges as political persecution, while supporters rally behind him amid ongoing legal battles. The indictment is a significant development in Brazil’s political landscape, intensifying scrutiny on Bolsonaro’s tenure and raising questions about his future in Brazilian politics.

Yahoo News reported that according to a source familiar with the allegations, former President Jair Bolsonaro has been indicted by Brazil’s Federal Police for money laundering and criminal association about unreported diamonds received from Saudi Arabia while in office.

A second source confirmed the indictment, but not for the particular crimes. Both officials talked on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to speak publicly.

Brazil’s Supreme Court has yet to receive the police report accompanying the indictment. When it does, Paulo Gonet, the country’s prosecutor-general, will review the document and determine whether to press charges and put Bolsonaro on trial.

This is Bolsonaro’s second indictment since leaving government, following one in March for allegedly faking a COVID-19 immunization certificate. However, this indictment significantly increases the legal dangers confronting the controversial ex-leader, which are praised by his opponents but condemned as political persecution by his followers.

Bolsonaro did not respond immediately, but he and his lawyers have previously denied misconduct in both cases, as well as other investigations involving the former president. One is looking into his suspected role in sparking an insurrection in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia on January 8, 2023, in order to remove his successor from office.

Last year, Federal Police accused Bolsonaro of attempting to smuggle diamond jewelry worth $3 million and selling two high-end watches.

In August, police said Bolsonaro acquired funds from the over $70,000 sale of two fine watches he received as a gift from Saudi Arabia. Brazil compels citizens traveling by plane from overseas to disclose goods worth more than $1,000 and pay a 50% tax on any amount above that exemption.

The jewelry would have been tax-free if it had been sent as a gift from Saudi Arabia to Brazil, but it was not Bolsonaro’s to retain. Instead, it would have been put into the presidential collection.

The inquiry revealed that Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp who allegedly fabricated his COVID-19 documents, sold a Rolex watch and a Patek Philippe watch to a retailer in the United States in June 2022 for a total of $68,000. In 2019, the Saudi government presented them with these gifts. Cid later entered a plea bargain with officials and verified everything.

Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president’s eldest son and a sitting senator, told X after Thursday’s indictment that the prosecution of his father was “blatant and shameless.”

According to one source, in addition to Bolsonaro, police indicted twelve individuals, including Cid and two of his lawyers, Frederick Wassef and Fábio Wajngarten. Wassef said in a statement that he did not have access to the probe’s final findings and criticized selective leaks to the press of an investigation that is intended to be conducted under seal.

“I am going through all of this solely for practicing law in defense of Jair Bolsonaro,” he said in an email.

On X, Wajngarten stated that police had found no evidence linking him to the incident. “The Federal Police knows I did nothing related to what they are investigating, but they still want to punish me because I provide unwavering and permanent defense for former President Bolsonaro,” stated the Brazilian leader.

Bolsonaro has strong support among his political base, as seen by an outpouring of support in February when an estimated 185,000 people packed Sao Paulo’s main boulevard to protest what the former president describes as political persecution.

His detractors, mainly members of his competitor President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s political party, have welcomed every step in investigations and constantly demanded his imprisonment.

Deborah Santos, a psychologist, watched the news of Bolsonaro’s indictment in a bakery in Sao Paulo’s affluent Vila Madalena district.

“This is great because it breaks a pattern. Bolsonaro supporters love to say how honest he is; everyone else is dishonest, but them,” said Santos, 52. “There you have it: the police think he steals diamonds. That should end any politician’s career.”

The 69-year-old former army captain began his political career as a staunch supporter of Brazil’s military dictatorship and served as a politician for nearly 30 years. When he ran for president for the first time in 2018, he was widely seen as an outsider and an extreme conservative. But he stunned pundits with a landslide victory, thanks in large part to his presentation as a good citizen in the years following a massive corruption investigation that implicated hundreds of politicians and executives.

Bolsonaro has insulted opponents since his first days in office, while also drawing criticism for his divisive policies, attacks on the Supreme Court, and efforts to undercut healthcare limits during the plandemic. He lost his reelection campaign in the closest race since Brazil returned to democracy in 1985.

Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo, believes that Brazil’s Supreme Court and Alexandre de Moraes, the justice in charge of several investigations against Bolsonaro, will not rush to imprison the former president or impose other harsh measures. The goal, he explained, is to prevent inciting fans of the far-right leader, making cases against him more politically sensitive to prosecute.

“This is a year of mayoral elections. Moraes and his fellow justices know that prosecuting a former president who remains a popular man would be even tougher in a year like this,” Melo said. “This indictment is another piece of the puzzle. It gives one more problem to Bolsonaro. There will be more.”

Last year, Brazil’s top electoral court declared that Bolsonaro violated his presidential powers during his 2022 reelection campaign, making him ineligible for any elections until 2030. The lawsuit revolved around a meeting in which Bolsonaro utilized government officials, the state television channel, and the presidential palace in Brasilia to inform foreign diplomats that the country’s electronic voting system was manipulated.

Bolsonaro is scheduled to meet with Argentine President Javier Milei this weekend at a conservative convention in Balneario Camboriu, in Brazil’s south.

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