Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing during his police interrogation over accusations that he tried to illegally bring precious jewelry into the country, a source told AFP.

The case relates to accusations of illegally bringing gifts worth millions of dollars that Bolsonaro and his wife received from Saudi Arabia in March, which led to the opening of investigations and caused legal and political problems for the former president.

Federal police questioned the 68-year-old man in Brasilia a week after he returned to Brazil after spending three months in the United States following his loss in the October presidential election.

The Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper had revealed that customs officers seized valuable diamond jewelry in a backpack of one of Bolsonaro's aides after he returned from an official trip to Saudi Arabia in October 2021.

It later emerged that Bolsonaro had kept a second set of jewelry that had been brought to Brazil undetected on the same flight.

A source close to the former president, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that Bolsonaro denied to the police any wrongdoing, and confirmed that he did not know about the jewelry case that was seized until December of last year.

The source said Bolsonaro outlined subsequent efforts to release the seized jewels in an effort to avoid a diplomatic incident, in light of their eventual possibility of being sold at auction.

Under Brazilian law, government officials can only keep gifts that are personal and of low monetary value.
Bolsonaro spent about three hours at the police headquarters and left without making any statement to the press. The police also did not make any comment.

"The testimony went very smoothly," Bolsonaro adviser Fabio Weingarten, former chief of communications at the presidential palace, said in a tweet on Twitter, stressing that it "was an excellent opportunity to clarify the facts."

Travelers entering Brazil with goods worth more than $1,000 are required to declare them and pay heavy import taxes.
The jewelry could be declared and brought into Brazil duty-free as gifts, but would be added to the collection of the presidential palace.