Brazilian senator, Chico Rodrigues, who is allied to President Jair Bolsonaro, was caught with money hidden in his underwear.
This was during police investigation into the misuse of coronavirus response funding, local media reported.
Federal police raided the senator’s house in the northern state of Roraima as part of a probe into the alleged misappropriation of 20 million reais ($3.6 million, or around €3 million), Brazil’s Communications Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
Several major national newspapers, citing unnamed sources, reported that officers found 100,000 reais in Rodrigues’ home and more than 30,000 reais in his underwear, including “between his buttocks.”
Brazilian internet portal UOL said the police report detailed how the senator was caught with money in his underwear due to a “large rectangular volume on the back of his robes.”
The report continued, “when asked for the third time, with a lot of anger, Senator Chico Rodrigues put his hand in his underwear and pulled out other bundles of money.”
Court decides to suspend Rodrigues
Following the search, Rodrigues was suspended from the senate for 90 days by Supreme Court Justice Luis Roberto Barroso. Barroso said the senate could determine if the suspension was permanent.
“The police team possesses a video of the second personal search that was carried out,” Barroso wrote in the ruling.
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“However, in this case, considering the manner in which the money was hidden by Senator Chico Rodrigues — quite deeply in his underwear — I will not reproduce these images in this report so as not to cause greater embarrassment.”
Rodrigues confirmed in a statement that his house was raided, but did not give details about the incident. He denied any wrongdoing.
“My home was invaded for having done my job as a lawmaker, getting resources for the state to combat COVID-19,” read the statement. “I believe in justice and I will prove that I have nothing to do with any illicit act.”
The lawmaker is an ally to President Jair Bolsonaro, who worked with him for more than two decades.
