By Ricardo Brito
BRASILIA (Reuters) – The director-general of Brazil’s federal police said on Tuesday that three ongoing probes into far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro are expected to conclude by next month, the final step before deciding whether to formally accuse him of crimes.
Bolsonaro, who governed from 2019 to 2022, has faced mounting legal jeopardy since he left office after narrowly losing the 2022 presidential election to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The three ongoing police probes focus on allegations that he and his associates pawned jewelry given to his administration by the Saudi government, tampered with his vaccination records, and plotted a coup d’etat to overturn the 2022 election results.
“Our expectation is that in June we will conclude the first two investigations, on jewelry and vaccines, and in July we will finalize the coup investigation,” federal police Director-General Andrei Rodrigues told reporters.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied breaking any laws, and calls allegations against him a witch hunt by his political opponents.
He has been barred from public office until 2030 by Brazil’s federal electoral court for his conduct during the 2022 election, when he summoned ambassadors to vent unfounded claims of vulnerabilities in Brazil’s electronic voting system.
In the case investigating his alleged embezzlement of Saudi jewels, which were pawned in the United States, Rodrigues said police had discovered, with FBI assistance, a new jewel potentially linked to the case.
“That only strengthened the investigation,” Rodrigues said, without providing further details.
Bolsonaro and former aides are also being investigated for allegedly forging his vaccination records to permit his travel to the United States, although he maintains he has never taken a COVID-19 vaccine.
The third investigation focuses on whether Bolsonaro participated in a plot to declare martial law and stop Lula from taking power last year, ahead of a riot by his supporters on Jan. 8, 2023 who ransacked government buildings in Brasilia.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Brad Haynes and Bill Berkrot)
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