A Supreme Court judge in Brazil has authorized police to access the bank account records of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro and his wife, Michelle, over allegations they embezzled jewelry and other official gifts, media reports said.
Bolsonaro and former aides are under investigation over allegations they tried to illegally keep and sell expensive gifts received from foreign countries during his presidency, including a diamond-encrusted Rolex, a set of jewels from Swiss luxury house Chopard and other pricey objects.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized federal police to investigate the Bolsonaros’s bank and tax records in Brazil, and also request access to their bank and tax records in the United States, reported Brazilian media outlets, including news site G1.
The Supreme Court and federal police did not immediately respond to requests from AFP to confirm the reports.
Brazilian law forbids public officials from selling or keeping expensive gifts for themselves.
Bolsonaro, who served as president from 2019 through 2022, left Brazil for the United States two days before the end of his term, snubbing the January 1 inauguration of his successor, veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who beat him in a divisive election last October.
In the United States, Bolsonaro aides allegedly sold or attempted to sell various valuable gifts he had received from foreign governments.
The objects include two gold sculptures Bolsonaro received on a 2021 visit to Bahrain and a Chopard jewelry set received from Saudi Arabia.
Last week, Moraes ordered police raids of several Bolsonaro allies’ homes in connection with the investigation, which he said had uncovered evidence of a criminal conspiracy “to embezzle high-value objects.”
Bolsonaro denied committing any crimes when he was ordered to face questioning by police in April.
The former president, who returned to Brazil in March after three months in Florida, faces numerous legal woes.
Electoral authorities have barred him from running for office for eight years in connection with his unproven claims of widespread fraud in the voting system.
The Supreme Court is also investigating whether he played a role in riots by his supporters, who invaded the presidential palace, Congress and high court headquarters on January 8, calling for a military intervention to oust Lula.
