Jair Bolsonaro
President of Brazil 
Brazil
Illegal Surveillance / Intelligence Misuse
What the allegations say
Key dates
- Brazil’s federal police say that the national intelligence agency Agência Brasileira de Inteligência (ABIN) was used under Bolsonaro’s administration to conduct a clandestine surveillance scheme -targeting judges, lawmakers, journalists, environmental officials and other critics.
- The operation allegedly involved a “parallel structure” within ABIN, bypassing judicial oversight, using software (such as the Israeli‐developed “FirstMile”) to monitor cellphones, devices and communications.
- Among the alleged targets were senior figures like Supreme Court justices, members of the legislature, and prominent journalists.
- It is alleged that Bolsonaro and his circle not only knew about the scheme but benefited from it politically, including through smears and disinformation campaigns using the illegally-obtained intelligence.
- In addition, the Brazilian government publicly admitted that intelligence operations under Bolsonaro spied on Paraguayan authorities.
Key dates
- June 17, 2025: The federal police submitted a report to Brazil’s Supreme Court recommending indictment of Bolsonaro and over 30 other individuals in connection with the ABIN scheme.
- June 18–19, 2025: The seal on the 1,125-page federal police report was lifted, and media reports detailed the extent of the espionage, the targets, and the alleged role of Bolsonaro as the “main beneficiary”.
- March 31, 2025: The Brazilian foreign ministry acknowledged that under Bolsonaro’s presidency Brazil’s intelligence services spied on Paraguayan authorities - the operation purportedly ended in March 2023.
Falsifying COVID-19 Vaccination Records
Federal police say Bolsonaro’s COVID-19 vaccine entries in the Health Ministry database were fraudulently created/altered so he (and relatives) would appear vaccinated - allegedly to allow international travel despite his public anti-vax stance. The police case relied in part on testimony from aide Mauro Cid who said he altered records at Bolsonaro’s request.
Key dates & events
Important details/evidence cited by investigators
Investigators relied on: cellphone records, travel logs (showing Bolsonaro was not where a vaccination entry claimed), the nurse named in the record denying administering the shot, and plea-bargain testimony by Mauro Cid that he arranged/printed forged certificates. If proven, the alleged conduct would amount to falsification of public records and fraud.
Key dates & events
- 3 May 2023 - Federal police raided Bolsonaro’s home in Brasília and seized phones as part of probes including alleged falsification of vaccine records. Bolsonaro denied wrongdoing.
- 18–19 January 2024 - Brazil’s Comptroller-General (Tribunal de Contas/administrative investigators) reported that vaccination records attributed to Bolsonaro were false: the alleged vaccination date/lot and the nurse’s signature did not match available evidence. (Reuters report published 19 Jan 2024).
- 19 March 2024 - Brazil’s federal police formally recommended indictments and accused Bolsonaro (and several aides) of criminal association and falsifying vaccination data - marking the first formal police accusation in that probe. Investigators said false entries were added to the ministry database between Nov 2021 and Dec 2022. (AP / Reuters / Guardian coverage).
- 27 March 2025 - Brazil’s Prosecutor-General refused to press criminal charges in the vaccine-record case, asking the Supreme Court to dismiss the matter on grounds that the police evidence (largely a plea-bargain statement) was insufficient for prosecution. The PG said he would pursue other cases (for example, the coup-plot case) where evidence was stronger. (Reuters / AP).
Important details/evidence cited by investigators
Investigators relied on: cellphone records, travel logs (showing Bolsonaro was not where a vaccination entry claimed), the nurse named in the record denying administering the shot, and plea-bargain testimony by Mauro Cid that he arranged/printed forged certificates. If proven, the alleged conduct would amount to falsification of public records and fraud.
Coup Plot / Undermining Democracy
What happened
Key dates
Charges & Verdict
- Bolsonaro and a number of his allies are accused of orchestrating a conspiracy after the 2022 presidential election loss (to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva) to subvert the democratic transfer of power in Brazil.
The alleged plot included:
- Undermining confidence in the election system and casting the 2022 result as fraudulent.
- Seeking military or security-force backing to overturn or block the election outcome.
- Plans to target senior institutional figures, including a judge of the Supreme Court (Alexandre de Moraes) and government officials.
- A high-profile manifestation of this effort was the attack on government buildings in the capital (Praça dos Três Poderes, Brasília) on 8 January 2023, by supporters of Bolsonaro.
Key dates
- 8 January 2023: Riots in Brasília in which Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings.
- 26 March 2025: Brazil’s Supreme Court accepted the complaint that Bolsonaro and seven others would stand trial for coup-related charges.
- 11 September 2025: The 5-justice panel of Brazil’s highest court convicted Bolsonaro and his allies on multiple counts.
- 11 September 2025: On the same day, he was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for the coup-plot/undermining-democracy crimes.
Charges & Verdict
- The charges included: organizing a criminal armed organisation; attempting the violent abolition of democratic rule of law; attempting a coup; damage of government property/heritage.
- Bolsonaro was found guilty by a 4-1 majority of the 5-justice panel.
- This is reportedly the first time in Brazil’s history that a former president has been convicted for attempting to overthrow democratic governance.
"Jewellery-gate": Misuse of Official Gifts / Money Laundering
What the allegations are
Key dates & milestones
- While serving as President of Brazil (2019-2022), Bolsonaro and his entourage are alleged to have received valuable gifts from foreign governments (notably the Saudi Arabian government) that should have been treated as official state gifts. Under Brazilian law, many of those gifts would belong to the presidency or state rather than to the individual.
- Investigators assert that some of these gifts were not properly declared or recorded in the official presidential collection, and were instead diverted for sale or personal gain.
- The alleged scheme: luxury items (diamond necklaces, rings, watches, earrings, luxury brand items) given as “gifts from states” were sold or intended to be sold abroad; the proceeds were converted into cash and incorporated into personal assets without using formal banking channels - which raises allegations of money-laundering and embezzlement.
- Key accusation: that Bolsonaro authorised or ordered aides to dispose of jewellery gifts (e.g., a Rolex watch, items from Swiss jeweller Chopard) and channel the proceeds back to him.
Key dates & milestones
- October 2021 – A set of jewellery, reportedly a diamond necklace, ring, watch and earrings gifted by the Saudi Arabian government to Bolsonaro and his wife during a trip, was seized by Brazilian customs at São Paulo’s Guarulhos airport in the backpack of an aide returning from Saudi Arabia.
- 7 March 2023 – The Brazilian Justice Minister (Flávio Dino) ordered a police probe into alleged undeclared jewellery gifts, particularly the Saudi-gifted items.
- 6 April 2023 – Bolsonaro testified in the investigation.
- 8 December 2023 – The technical body of Brazil’s federal audit court (Tribunal de Contas da União, TCU) issued an opinion recommending that the jewellery gifts and guns received by Bolsonaro (which had not been properly catalogued) be returned to the Presidency (i.e., treated as public/state property) rather than private property.
- 4 July 2024 – The federal police formally accused Bolsonaro of embezzlement, criminal association and money-laundering in connection with the jewellery case (valued at about US$3.2 million) and the misuse of official gifts.
- 9 July 2024 – Police claimed that a crime ring linked to Bolsonaro sold official luxury gifts worth roughly US$1.2 million.