The investigation against the son of the president advance in Brazil

The presiding judge of the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil overturned an order suspending an investigation against Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of the president Jair Bolsonaroand established that the investigation of banking transactions must proceed.

The investigation into a possible corruption turned into one of the biggest challenges of Bolsonaro, a far-right politician who came to power with his promise to eradicate the political corruption and privileges of Brazilian elites.

The case against Flávio Bolsonaro began to develop in December 2018, when financial researchers at the federal level discovered that 1.2 million reais (approximately $ 327,000) were transferred to a bank account of Fabrício Queiroz and transferred to another account shortly thereafter in 2017. On that date, Queiroz was the driver hired by Flávio Bolsonarowho was then a state legislator from Rio de Janeiro.

Part of the transferred money ended on behalf of Michelle Bolsonaro, the first lady today. Jair Bolsonaro, the president, said the transactions were related to Queiroz paying a loan to Michelle.

Prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro investigating the case refused to comment because it is a continuous process, but experts and critics have suggested that the transactions, as they were around the fortnight, could be due to an illegal but common practice in Brazil: hire "ghost" employees, who do not show up, to pocket portions of these salaries.

In addition, the authorities are investigating 48 cash deposits made within five days in the same month on Flávio Bolsonaro's account.

The former state legislator denied committing any illegality and said that deposits and transactions constituted payment for a property that he had sold.

In October, when he was elected to the Brazilian Senate, he declared that he was not part of the investigation and that he was willing to meet with prosecutors. But in January, he changed his mind and appealed to the Federal Supreme Court. to request that the investigation be frozen by baderting that he is entitled to political immunity as a senator.

The court not being in session, the judge responsible agreed to suspend the investigation even though the transactions had taken place at the time when Flávio Bolsonaro was a lawmaker. State. Under Brazilian law, federal legislators and high-level politicians can only be tried by the Federal Supreme Court, which is why many cases last for years.

The case against Flávio Bolsonaro, including his call, has sparked criticism even among the president's allies.

When he attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Several of the questions they asked Jair Bolsonaro were about the casewhen he wanted to present his vision of a Brazil that respects the laws in force for the investors and the world leaders who have gathered there.

"If he may have been wrong and they show it, I will regret it as a father, but he will have to pay the price for those actions that we can not accept."he said the site Bloomberg.

Jair Bolsonaro, who for years was a marginal figure of Congress as a deputy, gained notoriety during the investigation into the Operation Lava Jato, which has presented a huge scandal of bribes involving politicians of the highest level and the state oil company, Petrobras.

During the campaign, Bolsonaro promised to change the state of affairs and repeatedly criticized the use of immunity or political immunity as a shield; in a video of 2017 that he recorded with Flávio, he declared that it was a "hogwash".

On 1 February, Judge Marco Aurélio Mello stated that the protection against the investigation in the lower courts was not applicable in the case of Flávio Bolsonaro, because the transactions under examination had took place before taking office in the Senate.

The case against Flávio Bolsonaro has hardly attracted attention in recent weeks, as the fall of a dam in southeastern Brazil has drawn the bulk of the hedge but it is possible that the inquiry into the president's son will resume and that the legislative session begins, there will be more pressure.

Flávio Bolsonaro has not spoken yet about Mello's decision, but on January 22 he issued a message in his networks denouncing that he was "the victim of a defamatory campaign aimed at hitting Jair Bolsonaro." ".

Copyright: The New York Times 2019 Press Office.