Ally of Brazil’s Bolsonaro resigns after being caught ‘hiding cash in underwear and between buttocks’
- Police found nearly US$18,000 hidden in Senator Chico Rodrigues’ house, reports say
- Search was part of investigation into US$3.5 million in stolen coronavirus funds
A Brazilian lawmaker stepped down from his position representing President Jair Bolsonaro’s government in the senate after reports that police searching his house found cash in his underwear as part of an investigation into stolen Covid-19 funds.
Federal police targeted Roraima state’s Senator Chico Rodrigues as part of a probe by the comptroller general’s office into the alleged misappropriation of 20 million reais (US$3.5 million), Brazil’s Communications Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
Rodrigues resigned as deputy leader of Bolsonaro’s government in the Senate, according to the nation’s official gazette.
Major local newspapers including Folha de S. Paulo and Estado de S. Paulo reported police found 100,000 reais (US$17,836) in Rodrigues’ house on Wednesday, with 30,000 reais (US$5,346) of that in the underwear he was wearing at the time, some of it stashed “between his buttocks”.
The papers cited sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. The story was first reported by Crusoe, an online news website.
“My home was invaded for having done my job as a lawmaker, getting resources for the state to combat Covid-19,” Rodrigues said in a statement. “I believe in justice and I will prove that I have nothing to do with any illicit act.”