According to a complaint by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, a property owned by Piquet in Brasília became a warehouse for "dozens of boxes with belongings" that Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party) "did not want to hand over to the Union" – including jewellery. One of the most celebrated and dedicated supporters of Bolsonaro, former Formula 1 driver Nelson Piquet maintained his loyalty until the last days of Jair's term.
According to the newspaper, the boxes sent contain only items of high financial value. Things that the president had no greater appreciation for, such as letters and books, would have been sent to the National Archives and the National Library.
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In a report published this Tuesday (28), Estadão reveals that Bolsonaro sent the alleged gifts to a place known as "Fazenda Piquet", in the Lago Sul region, one of the most expensive in the federal capital, Brasília. The items would have been sent directly from the private garages of the Planalto Palace and the Alvorada Palace.
Piquet was contacted for the Estadão report, but did not respond. A staunch supporter of the current ex-president, he participated in anti-democratic acts, railed against Lula and even acted as the then president's private driver at events in the federal capital.
Nelson Piquet (behind the wheel of the car, slightly covered up in the photo): from Formula 1 world champion to Bolsonaro's chauffeur / Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil
During the 2022 election dispute, Piquet was also the author of the largest donation made by an individual to Bolsonaro's campaign: R$ 501 thousand (nearly US$ 97 thousand). Coincidence or not, the former pilot's company, Autotrac Comércio e Comunicações, which was contracted by the Ministry of Agriculture, had received, months before, a contractual amendment of around R$ 6.6 million, without bidding (approximately US$ 1.3 million).
In another episode of his career after retirement from the tracks, Piquet was condemned, last week, to pay R$ 5 million (nearly US$ 970 thousand) after racist and homophobic speeches directed at Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton during an interview with an internet channel.
Understand the case
Jewelry worth approximately R$ 16.5 million (nearly US$ 3.2 million) were found in October 2021 in the suitcase of the military Marcos André Soeiro, advisor to Bolsonaro's then Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque. At the time, the entourage was returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia. Federal Revenue agents detained the jewelry at Brazilian customs at Guarulhos international airport.
According to Brazilian legislation, to enter the country with goods worth more than US$ 1 thousand, the passenger must pay an import tax equivalent to half the value of the item. If the person is caught trying to hide the possession of the product, as happened in this case, there is an additional fine of 25% of its value.
Jewels pilfered by Jair Bolsonaro finally return to public property / Disclosure
The only way to avoid paying the tax and the fine, which would add up to around R$12 million, would be to declare that it was an official gift to the State. In this case, however, the jewels would remain with the Brazilian State, not with Michelle. It was not the option they wanted, as documents show the Bolsonaro government's attempts to recover the diamonds.
In the following month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – then under the command of Carlos França – also became involved in the case. An official letter requesting the release of the precious stones was sent to the Federal Revenue Service on November 3, 2021. Through an official report, the Revenue denied and explained the legal procedures necessary for this to happen.
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Not satisfied, Jair Bolsonaro himself – who now told CNN he was not even aware of the existence of these jewels – insisted on the release of the jewelry with the Revenue, in official letter dated December 28, 2022. It did not work.
On December 29, the day before Bolsonaro left the government and went to the United States before losing the privileged forum, the president's aide personally went to Guarulhos. Jairo Moreira da Silva, a sergeant in the Navy, made the last and frustrated attempt to recover the jewels.
Why such expensive 'gifts'?
In March 7th, the Federation of Oil Workers (FUP) called the brazilian Federal Public Ministry (MPF) to investigate a possible connection between the jewels that former president Jair Bolsonaro would have tried to illegally appropriate and the privatization of Landulpho Alves Refinery (Rlam), in Bahia. The jewels would supposedly be a gift from Saudi Arabia to then First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro – however many observers are treating it as a possible bribe.
Petrobras completed the sale of Rlam on November 30, 2021 to Mubadala Capital, controlled by the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. The refinery cost US$ 1.8 billion, half of its market value, according to the FUP, and the sale took place without bidding.
Over the weekend, Bolsonaro said the jewels "were arranged" in the United Arab Emirates / Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil/Reproduction
Later, a month after the sale of the refinery, Bolsonaro traveled to the Middle East, with the first stop precisely in Abu Dhabi, and in a “faulty act”, he said on March 5, that the jewels “were arranged” in the United Arab Emirates, and not in Saudi territory. “I was in Brazil when this gift was arranged there in the United Arab Emirates for the Minister of Mines and Energy. His adviser brought it, on an airliner, and it stayed at the Customs”, said the former president, after a political event in Washington.
Edited by: Nicolau Soares e Flávia Chacon
