Son of Brazil's President Bolsonaro is charged with 'commanding a criminal organisation' and money laundering while he was a state lawmaker
A son of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has been charged with commanding a criminal organisation and laundering money when he was a state lawmaker.
The charges were levelled against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and 16 others on October 19, according to a statement the public prosecutors' office made today.
Prosecutors allege the senator had people on his government-funded payroll who weren't required to work and who had to return part of their salaries to him between 2007 and 2018.
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, left, with his father Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the launch of his father's new political party Alliance for Brazil in Brasilia, Brazil, in November 21, 2019
The senator denied having committed any crime and said he was confident that courts wouldn't accept the charge, according to a message he posted to his verified Instagram account.
The accusation is 'inviable because it is devoid of any hint of proof. It's nothing more than a macabre and badly engineered tale,' one of his four lawyers, Rodrigo Roca, said in a statement.
Jair Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 on a wave of anti-corruption sentiment and with promises to root out crime.
His crimefighting bona fides have faced skepticism in light of the investigation into his sons, as well as the resignation of his former Justice Minister Sergio Moro.
Prosecutors allege Flavio Bolsonaro had people on his government-funded payroll who weren't required to work and who had to return part of their salaries to him. Pictured: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Flavio attend a ceremony marking the 130th anniversary of the Rio de Janeiro Military School in May 2019
Moro quit and alleged that the president had sought to intervene inappropriately in the federal police.
Prosecutors also charged FabrÃcio Queiroz, Senator Bolsonaro's former driver, who was arrested in June.
Queiroz is a longtime friend of President Bolsonaro, who said last year that the two had not spoken since the allegations surfaced.
Police found Queiroz hiding out at a home belonging to a man who was previously a lawyer for both the president and Senator Bolsonaro.