The ex-president’s condominium was searched as part of an investigation into the falsification of Covid-19 vaccination data.
On Wednesday, Brasilia’s police conducted a search of the former president Jair Bolsonaro’s home and took his phone. The inquiry into the forgery of coronavirus vaccination certificates under his administration included more than a dozen searches, including the one that was conducted as part of this operation. In a later interview with media, the right-wing lawmaker refuted all accusations of malfeasance.
Police claimed to have searched 16 residences in Brasilia and Rio de Janeiro and made six arrests of people they believed to be part of a “criminal network” that is thought to have “inserted false Covid-19 vaccination information into public health systems.” Bolsonaro’s closest advisers and security personnel are reportedly among those being held, according to the media.
Investigators think the falsified records, which were created between November 2021 and December 2022 during the height of the pandemic, were used by the president of Brazil, a Covid vaccine skeptic, and other Brazilian officials to travel to the US at least four times, including for the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
Although Bolsonaro wasn’t mentioned by name in the police statement, Brazilian broadcaster Globo published video that showed the officers inside his condominium complex.
The former president was mentioned as a suspect in the investigation in records that Brazil’s Supreme Court released earlier on Wednesday. His association with a probable crime is “plausible, logical, and robust,” according to the records.
Bolsonaro expressed his amazement at what had occurred to reporters following the search and acknowledged that the authorities had confiscated his phone.
He stated, “I didn’t get the vaccine,” in response to every accusation made against him. I never had to show a vaccination record in order to enter the US. I have not committed any fraud. I simply didn’t get the shot.
Bolsonaro swore he would never have the Covid-19 shot while he was president. He was labeled as “vaccinated” in the health documents, the media claimed in February.
Bolsonaro, who last year lost the election for president to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, missed the inauguration of his left-wing challenger by traveling to the US in late December. After spending three months in Florida, he left for his place of origin in March.
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The former president is also under investigation for a number of other matters, including his allegations of election manipulation, the alleged misappropriation of foreign gifts, and the alleged instigation of his supporters to seize control of official facilities in Brasilia in January.
