Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil’s far-right president-elect facing scrutiny over suspicious £245,000 family payments

Politician’s son denies wrongdoing

Jair and Flavio Bolsanoro in October 2018 (AP)

Flavio Bolsonaro, son of Brazil’s president-elect Jair Bolsonaro, has declared that he has “done nothing wrong” as questions mount over suspicious payments involving his aide.

The unusual transactions, totalling 1.2 million reais (£245,000), pose a problem for Mr Bolsonaro’s father, who was elected after promising to stamp out corruption in Brazil.

Suspicion about the payments first arose when Brazil’s government published a report last week which highlighted numerous transactions involving members of the country’s legislature.

The document was produced by Brazil’s Financial Activities Control Council and does not name Flavio Bolsonaro, a state representative.

It does, however, name Fabricio Jose Carlos de Queiroz, Mr Bolsonaro’s driver.

The aide is alleged to have deposited the money in various amounts between January 2016 and January 2017.

Mr Bolsonaro denied any wrongdoing in a post on his Twitter account.

Jair Bolsonaro, who will take office as Brazil’s president on 1 January 2019, avoided media interviews as speculation over the payments mounted, according to the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.

He broke his silence on Wednesday during a Facebook livestream, when he admitted that he had a “problem ahead” due to the transactions.

The politician also denied that he and his son were targets of an investigation.

During his campaign the far-right politician capitalised on public dissatisfaction with Brazil’s elites, who are often perceived as corrupt.

He promised to eradicate widespread corruption and also threatened to imprison his political opponents, give the police “carte blanche to kill” and do away with human rights.

“If something is wrong, either with me, with my son, or with his aide, we should pay for it,” he said on Facebook.

“We can’t let anyone off the hook. I am open to anyone who wants to ask a question on this subject.”

Mr Bolsonaro won Brazil’s presidential election in October 2018.

Additional reporting by agencies