On Wednesday, a Brazilian government watchdog gave former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro five working days to return to the authorities a group of jewelry he is accused of receiving from Saudi Arabia in 2021.
All nine members of the government oversight voted in favor of requiring Bolsonaro to hand over the jewelry to the state-owned federal bank Caixa Economica in the capital, Brasilia.
The 5-day deadline begins once Bolsonaro’s lawyer is formally notified, which has not happened yet, according to government oversight.
Another batch of jewelry worth millions of dollars was seized from Saudi Arabia and also sent to Bolsonaro, according to one of his former ministers, by customs at Sao Paulo International Airport.
Bolsonaro, who has been in the United States since leaving office in January, has been the subject of initial police investigations at home since Brazilian media began reporting on the jewelry earlier this month.
The Federal Court of Accounts, a legislative oversight body that oversees the actions of Brazilian officials, ruled that Bolsonaro must hand over some of the weapons he obtained from the UAE to the presidential group.
Bolsonaro has not declared any jewelry collection to tax authorities.
Legal experts say the former president may stand trial in this case.
