Brazil’s Minister of Institutional Affairs, Alexadre Padilha, said Wednesday that former President Jair Bolsonaro will have to give explanations about the jewelry and other gifts he received from the Saudi Arabian monarchy upon his return from the United States, scheduled for Thursday.
Padilha has pointed out that it is not up to the government to assess the return to Brazil of »anyone who declares himself in opposition» and »much less that of an ex-president who fled». Bolsonaro has been in the United States since the end of December 2022, thus avoiding having to hand over the presidential sash as per protocol.
»The one who has to see is him, he will have to arrive and give explanations of the jewels, he will have to explain several issues of his government that are being uncovered», said Padilha after meeting with the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the Alvorada Palace, where he is working while recovering from the flu for which he postponed his official visit to China.
This week it became known that Bolsonaro received in October 2019 another third box with jewelry, this time valued at 500,000 reais (about 89,000 euros). In total he has received gifts from the Saudi authorities worth more than 3.2 million euros, as well as a set of weapons from the United Arab Emirates.
Given the magnitude of these gifts, the Court of Auditors of the Union (TCU) has already ordered that they be returned to the State, while the Federal Police does not rule out opening an investigation into Bolsonaro to elucidate the reasons why the Persian Gulf kingdom would have entertained the then president in this way.
In turn, Padilha ruled out that the return of the former Brazilian president will influence the current political climate, as well as Lula’s return to the limelight and clarified that it is up to the Federal District Government to take care of security and everything surrounding Bolsonaro’s return trip.
Bolsonaro is scheduled to land at Brasilia airport early in the morning of Thursday 30. The security protocol prepared by the authorities of the Brazilian capital does not seem to be to his liking and his party claims that it is typical of a »convict» and not of an ex-president.
Agents of the Federal Police and the Federal District Security Secretariat will escort him from the plane through a restricted area to a vehicle that will take him home, thus preventing him from being received by his followers in the airport lobby, which has caused uneasiness, according to ‘O Globo’.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
