The Rio de Janeiro Court accepted the Public Ministry’s complaint against Jorge Luiz Fernandes, who served as Carlos Bolsonaro’s (PL) chief of staff in the City Council, for involvement in a fraud scheme. Like Fernandes, six other former advisors to the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) also became defendants for the crimes of criminal organization and embezzlement (misappropriation of public money).
In the decision, judge Marcello Ruibioli, from the 1st Criminal Court Specialized in Criminal Organization, highlights that “the investigation found the existence of a crack scheme in the office of councilor Carlos Bolsonaro” and that “the just cause for receiving the complaint was amply proven”. The information was published first hand by g1 on Friday night.
The document names Fernandes as “leader and mentor of the organization”. Carlos, in turn, is not on the list of those reported. The decision states that the former advisor was a “friend of the Bolsonaro family” and “arranged the appointment of the other defendants”. Among the defendants is Fernandes’ wife who, according to investigations, transferred more than R$800,000 to her husband’s account.
He was appointed in 2001 and assumed the role of chief of staff in 2018. The decision states that each advisor made transfers and withdrawals for the benefit of Fernandes after receiving their respective salaries. The scheme took place, according to the complaint, between June 2005 and December 2021 in Carlos’ office.
The Public Ministry points out that the six employees transferred R$1.9 million to Fernandes. Each of the accused has ten days to present their defense in writing. After this date, the explanations will be analyzed and a date for witness testimony will be determined.
Legal procedure
The complaint against Carlos’ former advisors was filed in September 2024. At the same time, the Public Ministry chose to archive the investigation against Carlos. Prosecutor Alexandre Murilo Graça understood that the statements did not indicate payments to the then councilor.
At the beginning of 2025, judge Thales Nogueira Cavalcanti Venâncio Braga disagreed with the arguments presented by the prosecutor. Braga understood that the investigation had omissions and contradictions, and chose to send the case for analysis by the Attorney General’s Office.
The Rio Public Prosecutor’s Office then reopened the case against Carlos in March this year on suspicion of fraud — the investigation is ongoing.
