Bolsonaro’s son and allies accused in Brazil spy agency case, source says

Audio By Carbonatix

Enlarge

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Former President Jair Bolsonaro’s son and allies have been formally accused by Brazilian federal police after a probe into the alleged surveillance of authorities by spy agency ABIN during Bolsonaro’s time in office, a police source and local media said.

A police statement confirmed that the investigation had concluded but did not mention names of suspects.

Local media and a police source said earlier that the former president had also been formally accused in the case. Later, however, local media said he had not been accused. A second police source said he has not been formally accused because he is already a defendant for the same crime – being part of a criminal organization – in a separate case about an attempted coup.

According to the police statement, the investigation is centered on “the illegal monitoring of public authorities and the production of fake news, using ABIN’s systems.”

A final report has been submitted to the Supreme Court but is under seal.

Carlos Bolsonaro, a Rio de Janeiro city councilor, was formally accused of using information obtained illegally through the scheme to attack targets via social media, according to the first police source.

In a series of posts on social media, the younger Bolsonaro said the accusation aimed to harm him ahead of 2026 elections, adding that “even talking became a crime”.

Jair Bolsonaro’s lawyer told Reuters that he was not aware of the case and had not seen the police report.

Alexandre Ramagem, the former head of ABIN under Bolsonaro’s administration, and Luiz Fernando Correa, the current head of the agency, were also formally accused, according to the police source who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Ramagem is believed to have set up the scheme while Correa is suspected of obstructing the police investigation during President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s administration, the source said.

Ramagem said in a post on X that he will analyze the accusations once he has access to the police report. He called the probe an act of “creativity addressed to the press”.

ABIN declined to comment.

The parallel structure in ABIN set up under the Bolsonaro government monitored at least three Supreme Court justices and a former Lower House speaker, according to Supreme Court documents.

It will now be up to the prosecutors’ office to decide whether to file charges.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia; Additional reporting by Eduardo Simoes, Luciana Magalhaes and Andre Romani in Sao Paulo; Writing by Isabel Teles; Editing by Alex Richardson, Natalia Siniawski and Edwina Gibbs)