RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro say they have gathered evidence that former State Police Officer and ex-adviser to the Bolsonaro family, Fabrício Queiroz, paid private school fees for Senator Flávio Bolsonaro’s daughters.
In seeking a warrant for Queiroz’s arrest, the prosecutors submitted new evidence to the court that the former police officer served as a kind of financial operator for Flávio. The investigators obtained footage of Queiroz making payments at the bank teller, which according to time, date, and amounts, were made to settle Flavio’s daughters’ school fees.
Since Queiroz’s payments matched the monthly tuition fees, in terms of sums and timing, the prosecutors considered that Queiroz was responsible for the payments.
Queiroz was Flávio’s chief of staff in the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro (ALERJ) and has been a friend of President Jair Bolsonaro since the 1980s. The payment of the monthly fees pointed out by the Prosecutor’s Office is yet further evidence, according to the investigators, that Queiroz was not operating the “splitting” scheme just for himself. Flávio Bolsonaro denies having committed any irregularities.
Queiroz’s arrest was requested by the Prosecutor’s Office on the grounds that it was required in order for him not to jeopardize the progress of investigations. The payment of monthly fees was among the new evidence mentioned by prosecutors in the warrant for the arrest of Queiroz and his wife Marcia Aguiar, who is still on the run.
The prosecutors also searched six addresses linked to the senator and the ex-police officer, and are investigating whether Flavio, when a state deputy, used his Kopenhagen franchise shop ownership to conceal funds embezzled from his cabinet employees’ salaries.
The Prosecutor’s Office is also investigating whether public money was embezzled by Flavio’s office staff when he was a state legislator; it was allegedly used by the then deputy to purchase real estate. Queiroz’s role is considered crucial in the so-called “splitting” scheme, since the investigation uncovered evidence that it was Queiroz who collected money in cash, paid him by other cabinet employees from their staff salaries, and deposited it according to Flávio’s interests.
Source: El País