The Federal Police carried out this Wednesday (3) a search and seizure warrant at the address of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and the arrest of some of his closest former advisers. According to the Federal Police, the suspects allegedly attempted to insert false data on Covid-19 vaccination into the Ministry of Health system between November 2021 and December 2022.
In representation to Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court, the Federal Police points Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro's former assistant, as the main articulator of the scheme. According to the authorities, Bolsonaro was aware of the fraudulent entry of data into the system. "Jair Bolsonaro, Mauro Cid and, possibly, Marcelo Câmara were fully aware of the fraudulent insertion of vaccination data, remaining inert in relation to such facts until the present moment", says the Federal Police.
Mauro Cid and Luis Marcos dos Reis, former orderlies, Max Guilherme de Moura and Sergio Cordeiro, Bolsonaro's security guards, Ailton Moraes Barros, candidate for state congressman for the PL-RJ in 2022, and João Carlos de Sousa Brecha, secretary of the City Hall of Duque de Caxias (RJ), Bolsonarist stronghold in Rio and the place where the fraud would have been executed, they were all targets of an arrest warrant. Former First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro is also being investigated. Investigators have identified two fraud attempts. In the last one, data would have been entered to state that the then president and the other beneficiaries would have been vaccinated and therefore be able to issue a vaccination certificate to travel to the United States.
The insertion, according to Folha's investigation, took place on December 21, before Bolsonaro's trip to the US. The data indicates that Bolsonaro would have received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The president denied fraud and said he had never been vaccinated. "The investigation indicates that the group's objective would be to keep the identity element cohesive in relation to its ideological guidelines, in this case, to support the speech aimed at the attacks on vaccination against Covid-19", says the Federal Police. The United States requires the presentation of proof of vaccination against Covid-19 for travelers – a requirement that will end on the 11th.
According to the US government, there are exceptions, such as people on diplomatic trips or officials of foreign governments. According to the US Embassy, defrauding documents to try to enter the country is a crime that can be punished with a fine or imprisonment.
Translated by Cassy Dias