BRASILIA, Sept 2 — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro claimed Thursday to be under attack from the media as he brushed aside allegations of corruption levelled against his family a month before he seeks reelection.
The online news site Uol published claims Tuesday that members of the Bolsonaro family had bought 51 properties, paid partly or fully in cash, for a total of €4.8 million (RM21.4 million) between 1990 and 2022.
“Why are they doing this against my family? Half of these assets belong to my ex-brother-in-law. What do I have to do with him? We have not seen each other for ages,” the far-right president told the pro-government Jovem Pan radio.
Uol said in reply that eight of the 51 properties cited in the report belonged to Bolsonaro’s brother-in-law.
Making large cash payments is not a crime in itself, but can raise questions about the legality of the origins of the money.
“They are looking for a way to get at me 30 days before the election, but they won’t succeed,” said Bolsonaro, who is lagging in the polls behind leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of a first election round on October 2.
Lula’s camp has asked the Supreme Court to open an investigation into the latest claims.
Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform, bolstered by the rejection of the tarnished left after a massive graft scandal involving state oil company Petrobras.
Lula’s convictions in relation to that scandal were later overturned. — AFP
