Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL), a pre-candidate for president, called the 'rachadinha' investigations into his former Alerj office 'foam' and a reputational attack, in an interview on the Inteligência Ltda. podcast on Monday (6). He denied financial links to assessors and knowledge of the practices. The probes were closed after STF and STJ annulled evidence in 2021.
Flávio Bolsonaro stated that no criminal process was ever initiated against him and pointed to a lack of evidence of salary skimming from assessors. "[There was] all this foam, all this attack to try to destroy my reputation, and no criminal process against me ever started. How many financial links to my assessors? Zero," the senator said on the podcast.
He was indicted in 2020 by the Rio de Janeiro Attorney General's Office for allegedly leading a criminal organization that skimmed R$ 6 million from ex-staffers' salaries at Alerj. Despite the archiving, questions remain about the senator's financial movements before entering the Senate, including cash payments for expenses without matching withdrawals.
On ex-assessor Fabrício Queiroz, at the scandal's center, Bolsonaro said he had autonomy to manage street team, pamphleteering, and events. "He said that from some people he employed, he skimmed part of the salary, but obviously without my agreement," he stated, adding Queiroz denied his knowledge of the practices.
Records show Queiroz depositing R$ 25,000 in cash into Flávio's wife's account a week before an installment on a Rio property. In 2020, the senator admitted Queiroz paid his personal bills. The probe identified R$ 281,500 in cash deposits tied to property buys and cash use for taxes, furniture, and other expenses.
