Brazil police raid ex-president Jair Bolsonaro’s home as part of Covid-19 vaccine probe
- Bolsonaro’s home was raided as part of an operation to investigate the insertion of false Covid-19 vaccination data in public health systems
- Investigation may answer questions about how Bolsonaro, a strident coronavirus sceptic who vowed never to get the vaccine, was registered as vaccinated
Brazil’s Federal Police searched former President Jair Bolsonaro’s home on Wednesday and seized his phone, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The official, who wasn’t authorised to speak publicly, said that Bolsonaro will be deposed at Federal Police headquarters and also confirmed that one of his closest allies, Mauro Cid, was arrested.
Asked about the search of Bolsonaro’s home, the Federal Police’s press office provided a statement saying officers were carrying out 16 searches and six arrests in Rio de Janeiro related to the introduction of fraudulent data related to the Covid-19 vaccine into the nation’s health system. The statement did not name Bolsonaro or Cid.
Television network Globo broadcast images that showed police inside Bolsonaro’s condominium complex in Brasilia.
The investigation may answer questions about how Bolsonaro, a strident coronavirus sceptic who vowed never to get the Covid vaccine, was registered as vaccinated in health records made public in February.
Local media reported that the vaccine cards of Bolsonaro and his family members were altered.
