Brazil's police say Bolsonaro embezzled $1.2 million in undeclared jewelry from Saudi Arabia

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Federal Police allege former President Jair Bolsonaro embezzled jewelry worth 6.8 million Brazilian reals (about $1.2 million) during his time in office, according to the investigative report unsealed Monday by the Supreme Court.

Bolsonaro was indicted last week charging embezzlement, asset laundering and criminal association in connection with the luxury jewelry from Saudi Arabia. The investigation adds pressure on the far-right leader who governed in 2019-2022 before losing his reelection bid to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He has already lost his political rights until 2030.

Bolsonaro hasn't commented on the indictment, but has previously denied any wrongdoing involving the jewelry.

The police report alleges there was “a criminal association for the embezzlement of high-value gifts that were received due to the position of former President Jair Bolsonaro.” The jewelry included diamond-encrusted Rolex and Patek Phillipe watches, a necklace, rings and cufflinks, among other items. The report says some of the presents were given to government staffers acting on Bolsonaro’s behalf during international trips.

The Associated Press reported Bolsonaro’s indictment Thursday based on information given by two sources with knowledge of the investigation, but the unsealing of the report by Brazil's Supreme Court provided a complete view of the allegations.

Brazil’s prosecutor-general, Paulo Gonet, will analyze the police report and decide whether to file charges and force the far-right leader to stand trial.

The jewelry would have been tax exempt had it been a gift from Saudi Arabia to the nation of Brazil, but not Bolsonaro’s to keep for himself. Rather, it would have been incorporated into the presidential collection.

The police report said Bolsonaro's family received “revenue obtained through the illegal sale” of the jewelry. The investigation found the funds were incorporated by the former president without the use of Brazil's banking system as a way to hide the origin, the report said.

During his first public speech after the accusations came to light, at a conservative conference in southern Brazil on Saturday, the 69-year-old former army captain did not address the issue. But he and his lawyers have previously denied any wrongdoing in the case as well as in other of his actions that are under investigation.

Argentine President Javier Milei, one of Bolsonaro's allies, accused Brazil of promoting a legal witch hunt against the former president.

Bolsonaro’s indictment in the jewelry case followed another formal accusation in March accusing the former leader of falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination certificate. He is also the target of an investigation into possible involvement in inciting a January 2023 uprising in the capital of Brasilia that sought to oust his successor.

The police report unsealed Monday indicts 10 others, including two of Bolsonaro’s lawyers, a retired army general and a former energy minister of his administration.

The document recounts one exchange between Bolsonaro and a former top aide to suggest the Brazilian leader was aware that some of the jewelry in question was about to be auctioned in the U.S. Federal Police said Bolsonaro’s phone included other references to Fortuna Auction, the auctioning company.

Police said a second package of luxury jewelry seized in customs was also addressed to Bolsonaro, whose administration made repeated efforts to secure their release. The then president received the package on Nov. 29, 2022, the report said.

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FILE - This photo provided by Brazil's Federal Revenue Department shows jewelry, part of an investigation into gifts received by ex-President Jair Bolsonaro during his term, seized by customs authorities at Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the week of March 24, 2023. Brazilian police indicted Bolsonaro on Thursday, July 4, 2024, for money laundering and criminal association, sources say. (Brazil's Federal Revenue Department via AP, File)

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro smiles after deplaning at the international airport in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina state, Brazil, Friday, July 5, 2024. Brazilian police have indicted Bolsonaro for money laundering and criminal association in connection with undeclared diamonds the far-right leader received from Saudi Arabia during his time in office, according to a source with knowledge of the accusations. (AP Photo/Heuler Andrey)

Advocacy groups behind a so-called suicide capsule said Sunday they have suspended the process of taking applications to use it — which numbered over 370 last month — as a criminal investigation into its first use in Switzerland is completed.

The president of Switzerland-based The Last Resort, Florian Willet, is being held in pretrial detention, said the group and Exit International, an affiliate founded in Australia over a quarter century ago.

Swiss police arrested Willet and several other people following the death of an unidentified 64-year-old woman from the U.S. Midwest who on Sept. 23 became the first person to use the device, known as the “Sarco,”in a forest in the northern Schaffhausen region near the German border.

Others initially detained were released from custody, authorities have said.

Switzerland has some of the most permissive laws in the world when it comes to assisted suicide, though the first use of the “Sarco” has prompted a debate among lawmakers.

Laws in the rich Alpine country permit assisted suicide so long as the person takes his or her life with no “external assistance” and those who help the person die do not do so for “any self-serving motive.”

The advocacy groups said in a statement Sunday that 371 people were “in the process of applying” to use the Sarco in Switzerland as of Sept. 23 and applications were suspended after its first use.

Exit International, whose founder Dr. Philip Nitschke is based in the Netherlands, is behind the 3D-printed device that cost over $1 million to develop.

The “Sarco” capsule is designed to allow a person sitting in a reclining seat inside to push a button that injects nitrogen gas into the sealed chamber, allowing the person to fall asleep and die by suffocation in a few minutes.

Exit International has said Willet was the only person present during the woman's death, and described it as “peaceful, fast and dignified.” Those claims could not be independently verified.

FILE - A 'suicide pod' known as 'The Sarco' is seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, July 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahmad Seir, File)