RIO DE JANEIRO: Former president Jair Bolsonaro’s inner circle has been caught up in an investigation over illegal spying in Brazil, a spreading scandal whose ripples have drawn dangerously close to the far-right leader.Here is a look at the allegations.How did it all start?The investigation made news in October when police arrested two officials at the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) accused of inappropriate use of Israeli spyware FirstMile, which tracks targets’ cell phone geolocation, during Bolsonaro’s government (2019-2022).Last week, officers raided the home and offices of Bolsonaro’s former intelligence chief, Alexandre Ramagem, who is now a congressman for the ex-president’s party.And on Monday, police raided the Bolsonaro family’s vacation home and the home and offices of Bolsonaro’s son Carlos, a Rio de Janeiro city councilor.Carlos Bolsonaro’s name had already been mentioned in 2020, when an ex-minister in his father’s cabinet, Gustavo Bebianno, said in an interview that the city councilor had pushed to create a “parallel” Abin.Bebianno died of a heart attack shortly after.What are the allegations?Police say a “criminal organization” within Abin is suspected of illegally monitoring public officials and others during Bolsonaro’s presidency.Court documents show investigators suspect conspirators used FirstMile without judicial authorization and carried out illegal intelligence-gathering on behalf of Bolsonaro’s inner circle.Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who authorized the raids, said police had identified Carlos as part of the scheme’s “political nucleus.”Investigators allege the spying also aimed to help Bolsonaro’s son Flavio, a senator, fight off a corruption investigation, and help another of his four sons, Jair Renan, in an influence-peddling probe.
Source link
