Brazil’s federal police have indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro for alleged vaccine fraud, according to two sources familiar with the case. An inquiry by the country’s comptroller general’s office had previously revealed that Bolsonaro’s immunization records were fraudulent.
In addition to Bolsonaro, one of his former aides, Mauro Cid, who was arrested in May of last year as part of the inquiry, was also charged. He was charged with entering fraudulent data into the country’s Unified Health System (SUS) and organizing a criminal organization according to reports.
When contacted by Reuters, the former president reaffirmed that he had not received the COVID-19 vaccine and expressed calm. “It’s a selective investigation. I’m calm, I don’t owe anything,” said Bolsonaro. “The world knows that I didn’t take the vaccine.”
Throughout his presidency, Bolsonaro frequently dismissed the necessity of vaccines and social distancing measures during the pandemic, which killed over 700,000 people in Brazil.