Bolsonaro aide tells police he sold luxury watches for ex-president - report [View all]

Lt Col Mauro Cid said to admit selling watches from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in Pennsylvania mall and handing cash to Bolsonaro

Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Fri 15 Sep 2023 12.45 EDT

Jair Bolsonaro’s former personal secretary has reportedly told police he handed tens of thousands of dollars to his old boss after selling two luxury watches that Brazil’s ex-president had received as official gifts.

Lt Col Mauro Cid, who was Bolsonaro’s aide-de-camp during his 2019-23 presidency, was released from four months’ detention on Saturday after striking a plea deal with police.

That agreement reportedly requires Cid to provide information relating to a series of suspected crimes committed during Bolsonaro’s administration, including an alleged coup plot and a scandal involving the alleged embezzlement of expensive foreign gifts.

Shortly before his release, Bolsonaro’s former right-hand man reportedly gave a statement to federal investigators in Brasília in which he admitted selling a diamond-set Rolex and a Patek Philippe wristwatch on behalf of the ex-president. The watches, which were sold in a Pennsylvania mall, were gifts from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/15/bolsonaro-aide-tells-police-he-sold-luxury-foreign-gifts-for-ex-president-report