Bank secrecy lifted for Brazil President Bolsonaro’s son Carlos in corruption investigations

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio de Janeiro Court of Appeals on Tuesday (31) lifted the bank and tax secrecy of city councilor Carlos Bolsonaro, one of president Jair Bolsonaro’s sons, as part of a corruption investigation.

The measure was requested by the Prosecutor’s Office, which is accusing Carlos Bolsonaro of diverting public funds by allegedly using his office in the Rio de Janeiro City Council to hire “ghost” employees.

The Prosecutor’s Office is also accusing the Republicanos party member, an important presidential aide in charge of managing the head of state’s social networks, of skimming part of the salaries of employees in his office in the City Council.

The case has been under investigation since the media reported in 2019 that Carlos Bolsonaro hired 7 relatives of Ana Cristina Valle, his former stepmother and the president’s second wife, as cabinet officials; two of them admitted to having never worked there.

Another of the employees, a 70-year-old woman who lives in Magé, a municipality 50 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro, also denied that she ever worked for the municipal legislator despite the fact that, according to the Council, she received a monthly salary of US$900 at the time.

According to judicial sources, the Rio de Janeiro Court authorized the lifting of bank and tax secrecy of 7 companies and 26 people accused in this case, among which are Carlos Bolsonaro and Ana Cristina Valle.

Carlos Bolsonaro is currently serving his 6th consecutive term as a Rio de Janeiro city councilor after being elected for the first time in 2001.