A Saudi Rolex Sold in a U.S. Mall Could Get Bolsonaro Arrested

Author: Editors Desk Source: N.Y Times

August 22, 2023 at 22:32

Jair Bolsonaro, the former Brazilian president, denies wrongdoing in each of the investigations into him, saying the allegations are fabrications that amount to political persecution.Credit...Samuel Corum for The New York Times

Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, is the target of multiple criminal investigations. One includes a watch, gifted by the Saudis, sold in a Pennsylvania mall.

It has been a bad 10 months for Jair Bolsonaro.

He lost re-election as Brazil’s president. Thousands of his supporters stormed Brazil’s halls of power. And he was blocked from holding elected office for seven years.

Now things could soon get worse: Across Brazil, both his critics and supporters speculate that the next twist might be his arrest.

Mr. Bolsonaro, 68, has become ensnared in a series of investigations into fraud and election tampering that have already landed some of his closest allies in jail and that, over the past several weeks, appear to be closing in on him.

But one case may pose the biggest threat to the former president in the near term, and it revolves around an alleged scheme that resembles a small-scale mafia scam: Selling embezzled watches at a shopping mall outside Philadelphia.

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