EXPLANATOR
Court records allege that under Bolsonaro's watch, Brazil's spy agency spied on politicians, judges and other officials.
Brazilian police arrested five people on Thursday as part of an ongoing investigation into allegations that the country's spy agency was weaponized by former President Jair Bolsonaro during his term from 2019 to 2023.
Federal police say Bolsonaro's spy chief, Alexandre Ramagem, ran a “high-capacity criminal organization” within the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN), the country's main intelligence agency.
Here's what we know about the investigation:
Did Bolsonaro order Ramagem to spy on his rivals?
- Abin is accused of illegally spying on government officials during the right-wing administration of the former president.
- Although Bolsonaro is not formally accused of ordering any spying, the court ruling authorizing the arrests mentioned his name five times and mentioned how one of the suspects had claimed to have a “direct line” to Bolsonaro.
- A 187-page police document includes screenshots of WhatsApp message exchanges between those arrested by police on Thursday.
- According to police, Abin used software called FirstMile, developed by Israeli company Cognyte, under Ramagem's supervision.
- According to prosecutors, the agency was used to illegally spy on tax auditors investigating the president's eldest son, Flavio Bolsonaro. The intention was to find compromising information about them in order to stop a corruption investigation from when Bolsonaro's son was a Rio de Janeiro councilman.
Who was Abin supposedly spying on?
- A Supreme Court document contains the names of several Brazilian public figures who were allegedly targeted by the spying operation.
- Those named include Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, former Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria and the current head of Brazil's lower house, Arthur Lira.
- The list also included the names of senior officials at the Brazilian Institute for Environment and Development (IBAMA). As president, Bolsonaro cut IBAMA’s budget by 30 percent between 2019 and 2020, while slashing funding for other environmental agencies. During his term, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon skyrocketed, and Bolsonaro was accused of facilitating this destruction.
- Three senators who led a parliamentary inquiry into Bolsonaro's conduct during COVID-19 were also on the list.
- Journalists Monica Bergamo of Folha de S. Paulo and Vera Magalhaes of O Globo were also targeted, the document said.
Who was arrested and on what charges?
On Thursday, police carried out searches and seizures, and issued pretrial arrest warrants. The warrants were for:
- Mateus de Carvalho Sposito, former member of the Secretariat of Social Communication, the government body responsible for public relations;
- Richards Dyer Pozzer, a businessman;
- Rogerio Beraldo de Almeida, an influencer;
- Marcelo Araújo Bormevet, federal police; and
- Giancarlo Gomes Rodrigues, a military officer.
- Police said the arrest warrants were issued against individuals suspected of criminal organisation, clandestine interception of communications and spying on computer devices belonging to third parties.
Why is this important?
The new accusations add to a series of investigations against Bolsonaro.
Already disqualified from running for office in 2030 after a failed re-election campaign in 2022, he is currently embroiled in last week's jewelry embezzlement case as well as a case involving the falsification of his COVID-19 vaccination records.
What are the reactions to the accusations?
- The former president's son, Flavio Bolsonaro, denied any ties to Abin and said details of the investigation were published to hinder the intentions of Abin's former boss, Ramagem, to run for mayor of Rio de Janeiro this year.
- Brazilian Senator Alessandro Vieira wrote on X that “criminal espionage and online attacks” were “typical of dictatorial governments.”
- Senator Randolfe Rodrigues invoked Bolsonaro's conduct during the COVID-19 pandemic, which he described as a “little flu,” downplaying its importance. “While Brazilians were dying, the previous government, instead of worrying about buying vaccines, was concerned about persecuting and monitoring political opponents,” he said.
