The Brazilian prosecutors has accused Flavio Bolsonaro of corruption for receiving salaries for his employees, who did not really work for him, when he was a Rio de Janeiro state lawmaker. France 24 international news channel reports.
The Rio state prosecutor’s office accuses 39-year-old Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of president Jair Bolsonaro, of embezzlement, money laundering and operating a criminal organization from 2007 to 2018.
In addition, his former driver and assistant as well as a former police officer, Fabrizio Queiroz has also been charged with the alleged scheme.
Keirus’s arrest in June this year sparked rumors that he could have struck a deal with the prosecutor’s office in exchange for information about his former boss’s role.
Moreover, charges were brought against fifteen other defendants.
The prosecutor’s office did not release a charging document or provide a detailed summary of the case because it remains under seal as the investigation continues.
Flavio denies the charges and believes that the court is unlikely to side with the prosecutor’s office. Noting that he is a victim of «political persecution».
– I did nothing illegal. The Rio state prosecutor’s office made a series of strange mistakes in its accusation, which just happens to come on the eve of local elections, – Flavio Bolsonaro wrote on Instagram.
The investigation began in 2018, when auditors identified a series of unusual transfers to an account held by Queiroz for a total of $375,000.
According to the investigation, a scheme was discovered in which politicians pack their public payrolls with fake staff and receive a salary for them.
It is known that the prosecutor’s office accuses Flavio of embezzlement of 485 thousand dollars.
The charges are the first to be brought in a series of investigations involving the president’s family. The situation is expected to harm the far-right leader who has spoken on the anti-corruption platform.
