Mauro Cid testifies for more than 2 hours at the Federal Police

The former aide-de-camp of the former president of the republic Jair Messias Bolsonaro (PL) Mauro Cid gave a statement to the Federal Police this Tuesday (18) for approximately two and a half hours, within the case of the jewelry sold by him in the United States of America (USA) while Bolsonaro was still president.

The statement was requested by the PF after the discovery of a new jewel possibly given by the Saudi government to the Brazilian government last week.

_{The Seybold building, where the jewelry was priced and sold (Photo: reproduction/Mayleen Gonzalez/Racked Miami)}

Incongruous information

During his testimony, Mauro Cid stated that he was unaware of the newly discovered jewel. However, the jewelry would be among the watches and ornaments sold by Cid and other Bolsonaro's trusted men at the “Goldie's” store, located in the Seybold Jewelry store complex in Miami, Florida.

Cid, who occupied one of the former president's most trusted positions, became a whistleblower in the case after signing a plea bargain agreement to try to obtain a lighter sentence for crimes committed at Bolsonaro's command, such as the tampering with Bolsonaro's vaccination cards and relatives of the same.

_{Bolsonaro and Saudi prince Mohamed bin Salman (Photo: reproduction/Alan Santos/PR)}

The inquiry

The PF is investigating the misappropriation of gifts given by the Saudi Arabian government to the Brazilian government in 2022. The jewels, as they were gifts given to the government, should have become national heritage, but were sold and negotiated on orders from the then president himself, causing for it to absorb a value that until then belonged to the Union.

If he is lying about not knowing about the newly discovered jewel, Cid could lose the benefits he would get with the agreed plea and could still face 2 to 4 years in prison. The piece was discovered in a joint investigation between the PF and the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation).

The already known kit consisted of white gold jewelry, religious artifacts and statues of intercultural value. The first pieces were discovered when allies of the former president tried to enter the country with undeclared jewelry and, since then, the case has been on the PF's radar.

Featured photo: Mauro Cid leaving the Federal Police after giving a statement (Reproduction/Gesival Nogueira/Ato Press/Estadão Conteúdo)