The Brazilian Federal Revenue Service was already monitoring Bento Albuquerque before the seizure of the Saudi jewels given to the Bolsonaro couple.
The high number of international trips taken by the then Minister of Mines and Energy in the Bolsonaro government had already drawn the attention of auditors from the Federal Revenue Service.
247 - The frequent trips abroad made by Bento Albuquerque when he was head of the Ministry of Mines and Energy led auditors from the Federal Revenue Service to increase monitoring of the then-minister in Jair Bolsonaro's (PL) government and members of his entourage. According to the newspaper The State of S. PaulBento Albuquerque even managed to make ten international trips in just one year.
The revelation of the monitoring comes amid the former minister's involvement in the illegal entry into the country of jewels valued at R$ 16,5 million given by the Saudi monarchy to the Bolsonaro couple. On Monday (6), the The tax authority announced that it would summon the former minister. to provide explanations as to why she illegally brought bribes in the form of jewelry to Jair and Michelle Bolsonaro.
“Official data shows that the minister and his entourage's constant trips only ceased in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic broke out. In 2019 alone, there were ten trips abroad, including countries such as Israel, the United States, Argentina, Japan, China, Austria, France, and Spain. In some engagements, the then-minister accompanied former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL). In others, he traveled with his entourage to events related to the mining and energy sector,” the report highlights.
The pace of travel picked up again in 2021, when the then-minister traveled to the United States, Austria, Russia, England, and the United Arab Emirates. In October of the same year, he visited Saudi Arabia. A few days before returning to Brazil, on October 26, 2021, Bento Albuquerque met with Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
"It was at the end of this trip that, as he was leaving the hotel with his entourage to return to Brazil, the Arab regime handed over the million-dollar gifts to Bolsonaro," the report emphasizes.