Senate opposition leader Randolfe Rodrigues (Sustainability Network Party, Amapá state) presented a petition to the Supreme Court (STF, in Portuguese) this Wednesday (31) to request an investigation into the purchasing of properties paid in cash by the Bolsonaro family.
The case became public on Thursday morning (30) through a news report published by UOL, becoming the most recent scandal involving the president’s family, which, since the 90s, had negotiated at least 51 properties paid in cash. UOL’s investigation includes the assets gathered by the family in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Brasília, which were purchased by Bolsonaro’s three oldest sons, his mother, five brothers, and two ex-wives.
The news story shows that the family made a total of 13,5 million reais (almost US$ 2,6 million) in payments, which would amount to 25,6 million reais (about US$ 4,88 million) in current values. Also, the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor's office and the Federal District prosecutor's office are investigating at least 25 properties whose payment method is unknown.
As a result of the revelations, Randolfe requested that the Justice summon President Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party) and his family members to testify about the case, for which the parliamentarian also requests the adoption of “precautionary measures”. Randolfe's suggestions include blocking bank accounts, issuing search and seizure warrants to take cell phones and computers, examining these technological items, and “immediate publicity about content that concerns the public interest”.
Bolsonaro
According to UOL’s news story published on Tuesday night (30), when contacted through his press office, the president did not comment about why the family have opted to purchase properties in cash.
On the same day, Bolsonaro got angry when journalists asked him about the case. “What is the problem with buying some properties in cash? I don’t know what the news story says. What is the matter?”, he provoked the journalists.
