The Investigations Around President Jair Bolsonaro’s Inner Circle

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Retired State Police officer Fabrício Queiroz, former adviser to Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and friend of President Jair Bolsonaro, was arrested on Thursday morning, June 18th, in Atibaia, São Paulo, in a joint operation by the Civil Police and the São Paulo Prosecutor’s Office.

Queiroz is under investigation for his involvement in an alleged salary “splitting” kickback scheme in the Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro, in the office of then state legislator Flávio Bolsonaro.

A “splitting” scheme is when employees are coerced into kicking back part of their salaries. Bolsonaro’s son was a state legislator between February 2003 and January 2019.

This is only one of the investigations troubling the President. In addition, there is Carlos Bolsonaro’s ghost employee scheme in his office in Rio’s City Hall, in addition to the inquiries reported by the Federal Supreme Court concerning fake news and anti-democratic activities.

FEDERAL POLICE (PF) INVESTIGATIONS INTO BOLSONARO’S INNER CIRCLE:

Fake News

In March 2019, the STF Presiding Justice Dias Toffoli announced the opening of an inquiry to investigate the occurrence of fake news affecting members of the Court.

In parallel, in September that year, the Fake News CPMI (Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry) was established in Congress.

Since then, the Bolsonaro family has been opposed to the committee’s operation, which is investigating profiles part of the President’s support base.

In late April, Folha newspaper disclosed that the PF had identified city councilor Carlos Bolsonaro, son of President Jair Bolsonaro, as one of the organizers of a criminal fake news scheme.

Within the Federal Police, there is no doubt that Bolsonaro wanted to dismiss the ex-PF director Maurício Valeixo, ex-Justice Minister Sérgio Moro’s right-hand man, because he was aware that the force had reached his son.

Pro-coup rallies

STF Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized the launching of an inquiry to investigate the March 19th rallies.

The request was made by Federal Prosecutor General  Augusto Aras. The goal is to investigate a potential violation of the National Security Law through “attacks against the Brazilian democratic regime”.

The investigation targets entrepreneurs and federal deputies suspected of organizing and financing the activities.

Also in the PF’s sights are Bolsonarist YouTubers who have summoned the public to the rallies. Bolsonaro, who attended the protests in Brasília, will not be investigated, according to sources close to the Prosecutor General.

However, they caution that should evidence be found that the President helped to organize such events, he may become a target.

Queiroz Case

In August 2019, Bolsonaro announced that he would replace the then Federal Police chief in Rio, Ricardo Saadi, for issues related to management and productivity.

The corporation was experiencing a delicate moment, after a case surfaced involving Fabrício Queiroz ,a retired police officer and former staff chief for Flávio Bolsonaro at the Rio state legislative Assembly.

Queiroz is the center of the Prosecutor’s Office investigation that involves the President’s eldest son. A federal agency report pointed to the unusual heavy movement of R$1.2 million in Queiroz’s bank account, between January 2016 and January 2017.

The money is suspected of coming from a “splitting” scheme – when employees are coerced into returning part of their salaries to the deputies who hire them.

Appointed on Monday, June 4th, by President Bolsonaro, the new General Director of the Federal Police, Rolando Alexandre de Souza, decided to replace the head of the force in Rio.

Marielle Case

Bolsonaro’s name was included in the investigation into the murder of city councilwoman Marielle Franco, following the statements of a gatekeeper at the condominium where he lived before taking over the Planalto Palace in January 2019.

The statement came to light in October last year, when TV Globo’s Jornal Nacional (Evening News) reported that the President’s name had been mentioned in the March 2018 assassination investigation.

According to the Jornal Nacional at the time, the statement of a condo gatekeeper where Bolsonaro owns a home in Barra da Tijuca, suggested that one of the men accused of the murder had come to the gate and said he would visit the home of the then federal deputy. This event supposedly occurred only hours before Marielle’s death.

However, the Prosecutor’s Office then said that the gatekeeper’s statement did not match with the expert evidence collected, and that he may have lied. Furthermore, on the day of Marielle’s death, Bolsonaro was in Brasília. Days later, the gatekeeper told the Federal Police that he had made a mistake in mentioning the President.

In February this year, an ICCE (Institute of Criminology Carlos Eboli) report from the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police was completed, conducted on five hard drives seized from the condominium where both Bolsonaro and retired State Police officer Ronnie Lessa lived, the latter being one of those arrested and charged with the murder.

The report points out that the gatekeeper who spoke to Lessa is not the same one who testified pointing to Bolsonaro’s involvement.

Ghosts of Carlos Bolsonaro

The Rio de Janeiro Prosecutor’s Office opened two proceedings in September last year to investigate city councilor Carlos Bolsonaro for suspected use of ghost employees in his cabinet and the practice of “splitting” – when legislative staff return part of their salaries to the deputies who hire them.

The disclosure of the opening of proceedings was published by Época magazine and confirmed by Folha.

As with other cases, allies of Bolsonaro also sometimes claim that the investigation is being conducted by the Federal Police.

Witzel Government

In the event involving the porter in the Marielle case, the President even implied that the incident had been part of a plan by Governor Wilson Witzel. Former;y allies, the two have become political enemies since late last year.

From that moment on, behind the scenes, Bolsonaro complained that his opponent had not become the target of investigations. His contacts at the Federal Police also stirred up feelings of annoyance, saying that an investigation could be conducted to meet the President’s concerns and spreading the word that the work was not being handled properly.

Source: Folhapress