Brazil's Bolsonaro Says He May Have Erred in Not Declaring Loan

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s incoming president-elect Jair Bolsonaro said he may have erred by not declaring to tax authorities a loan he made.

“If I made a mistake, I will handle my responsibilities with the tax authority, no problem at all,” Bolsonaro told reporters in Rio de Janeiro, according to a video of the press conference he shared on his social media accounts.

The 40,000

($10,239) deposited to his wife’s account was the repayment of a loan, repaid in 10 installments of 4,000 reais each, Bolsonaro said. The financial watchdog COAF turned up a deposit made to his wife by a former aide of Bolsonaro’s son, newspaper Estado de S. Paulo reported this week.

The revelations have created noise for the man who scored a decisive victory in October elections, in large part boosted by an agenda to fight crime in a country weary of political scandal. He’ll assume the presidency on Jan. 1, and be joined by his chosen justice minister --- the judge made famous by the 4 1/2-year Carwash investigation. That probe revealed vast graft permeating politics and spurred many Brazilians to rally behind a candidate they perceive as tough on corruption.

Bolsonaro told reporters the money from the loan was deposited into his wife’s account rather than his own because he’s busy and has trouble getting to the bank, and that nobody sends nor receives illicit funds by check.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Biller in Rio de Janeiro at dbiller1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vivianne Rodrigues at vrodrigues3@bloomberg.net, Virginia Van Natta, Ros Krasny

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