BOLSONARO SON INDICTED FOR MEMBERSHIP IN CRIME RING

Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, has been indicted with participating in a criminal organization, Rio de Janeiro state prosecutors said.

Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, his former aide Fabricio Queiroz and 15 others are also suspected of money-laundering and embezzlement, according to the statement, the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported. 

The crimes allegedly occurred while Flavio Bolsonaro was a state lawmaker between 2007 and 2018. Queiroz was arrested in June in connection with a suspected corruption scheme. The suspicions were partly based on bank transactions involving 1.2 million reais ($212,000) from 2016 to 2017. 

Flavio Bolsonaro denies allegations that he received part of the salaries paid to staff on a public payroll when he was a state deputy of Rio de Janeiro. "I have not done anything illegal," he said on Instagram. Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain, won the 2018 election on promises to fight widespread political corruption.