The jewelry collection, which had been kept for one year, was handed over to Bolsonaro after 4 days of secret agenda

The Chopard jewelry collection that had been stored for a year in the safe of the Ministry of Mines and Energy was handed over to former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) four days after he met with then-Pouch Minister Adolfo Saxeda and former holder, Admiral Pinto Albuquerque. The two reserved meetings appear in the “secret agenda” of the presidency, indicating that they took place on the afternoon of November 25 last year, at the Alvorada Palace.

This set, valued at US$120,000 (about R$600,000), was delivered four days after these meetings were recorded, on November 29. The jewels were received by a staff member at 3:50 in the afternoon, at the Palacio da Alvorada, as stated in the gift-receipt form for the President of the Republic revealed by the newspaper. Sao Paulo State. In that document there is a question about Bolsonaro’s access to the material; The answer is yes.”

Although the legislation requires transparent agendas, there are meetings that the authorities overlook. In the case of these two records, only Albuquerque’s record is also on Bolsonaro’s public agenda. The Saxeda file appears only in Bolsonaro’s “secret agenda”, not on his public agenda, nor on that of the then-minister.

The public agenda is available on government websites. Access to “classified information” was restricted, by presidential advisors assigned to the job, and shared internally through job email. The material for this report was provided to the column by a source whose anonymity will be preserved.

The documents presented in this report are contained in the official emails by Mauro Cid. The former aide and lieutenant colonel in the army has been in prison since May, and is one of the topics of this investigation. Many of his secrets were hacked by the Federal Police (PF), authorized by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and by the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry (CPMI) on 8 January.

The article found that on Friday, November 25, Bento Albuquerque and Adolfo Saxeda were in Brasilia and met at Itamaraty Palace during the agendas of the Itaipu Penacional Hydroelectric Power Plant, where Admiral Albuquerque was a consultant at the time. The meeting took place the morning before the scheduled meeting in Alvorada. No public records were found indicating formal commitments by both parties that conflicted with the meeting period set by the presidency.

The Chopard collection, described by the National Front party as a “pink collection”, contains a pen, a ring, a pair of cufflinks, an Arabic rosary (‘rosary’) and a watch. The package was received by the then Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, on an official trip to Saudi Arabia, in October 2021. The item was brought in the admiral’s knapsack and was not declared to the Federal Revenue Service, which, according to the agency, could constitute a violation of customs legislation. . The commodity was stored for a year within the Ministry of Mines and Energy until delivery to Bolsonaro on November 29, 2022.

Investigations into Bolsonaro’s illegal enrichment through the sale of diplomatic gifts indicate that a month after they were delivered, the presidential delegation to the United States took the jewels “in a surreptitious way” and put them up for auction. In one of the conversations found by the police, the former aide to the camp, Mauro Cid, told another aide that he regretted the handover. “It’s a pity because we’re talking about $120,000,” then laughed.

For the PF, messages like this one from Cid “prove” an embezzlement scheme [crime de apropriação de bens públicos] Diversion of gifts received by foreign authorities for sale and “unlawful enrichment of the former president”. In press statements, all those involved denied their illegal involvement in the case.

The jewelry was handed over to the Federal Court of Accounts before investigations were launched by the National Police after the newspaper revealed the scandal Sao Paulo State, in March this year. On the morning of Thursday the 31st, Bolsonaro, former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro, and six other advisers gave simultaneous testimony on the issue before the National Front.

The newspaper published information that the jewelry was to remain in the safe of the Ministry of Mines and Energy for a year. the world. But the justification raises questions from the National Front. According to the author’s report UOL Josias de Souza, the suspect is that the jewels were delivered to Bolsonaro shortly after his return from the trip, in 2021. In this suspicion from the PF, the official letter of the delivery of the jewels in 2022 will only be an excuse to formalize the ticket gift and merge the items later On Bolsonaro’s Personal Assets.

Pinto Albuquerque was Minister of Mines and Energy until May 2022, when he left the ministry. He has already testified about the case and is being investigated by the Federal Police. His successor, Adolfo Saxeda, replaced him until the end of his term in December, and public information does not indicate that he is under investigation.

secret agenda

Records of meetings with Bolsonaro, days before the jewels were handed over, appear in a list of emails exchanged between presidential advisers, in the middle of Mauro Cid’s letterbox.

The “Secret Bolsonaro Agenda” document was created on the 25th the day before, at 1:57 p.m., by an employee of the Office of the Vice Presidential Agenda Office, Gaselton Marquero Nieves Negri, as the data in the document itself indicates. Negri himself sent the agenda at 2:29 pm to 25 contacts between the minister, the secretary and the advisers. Just like that, all with an efficient email (@presidencia.gov.br).

In this first version, only Bolsonaro was staying overnight at the FAB Polices’ Transit Hotel, in Guaratinguetá/SP, at 8 p.m. The document was updated and sent to the email list at 11:51 am on the 25th, by Helen Hernandez dos Santos, Vice Presidential Agenda Office, including meeting with Pinto Albuquerque. Appointments with the then Secretary of State, Carlos França (11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.) and with former government leader Ricardo Barros (PP-PR) (12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.) are also listed.

The third version of the document was sent at 12:49 pm on Friday, by the Special Adviser to the Deputy Cabinet on Agenda, Nayara Araujo da Costa Veloso. At this moment, the agenda appears with Sachsida, highlighted in yellow.

Information in the document indicates that the last change was made at 2:39 PM on the 25th, by Helen Hernandez dos Santos, Deputy Agenda Desk. The next minute, the secret agenda was sent to the contact list preserving the agendas already included and the flight details to Guaratenguita included.

the other side

The article attempted to contact Bento Albuquerque and Adolfo Sachceda several times by phone on Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 to comment on the meetings with Bolsonaro and the jewelry affair. There was no turning back. Since the case came to light, both have said they have done no wrongdoing. Bento Albuquerque even told condition that the jewels were gifts from the Saudis to Bolsonaro and Michelle; Later, he said in a statement to the National Front, that they are gifts to the Brazilian state.

When the case came to light, Saxeda told people close to her, according to the newspaper’s account the worldwho was unaware of the existence of the gems and that this was a “problem with his predecessor”.

Former President Bolsonaro was searched through his counsel late Thursday afternoon and did not respond to questions. And the space is open to manifest all that was mentioned.