Brazil’s Supreme Court Judge Rosa Weber has approved an investigation into allegations of corruption against President Jair Bolsonaro.
Jair Bolsonaro (File Photo)
Protests were held across the country on Saturday against the President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro. On the other hand, the Supreme Court has approved a criminal investigation against Bolsonaro in response to allegations of possible corruption related to a vaccine deal. Thousands of protesters gathered in more than 40 cities of the country to demand impeachment against Bolsonaro or greater access to the COVID-19 vaccine.
A demonstrator in Belem, the capital of Para state, carried a placard that read, ‘If we observe a minute’s silence for each and every COVID dead, we will be silent by June 2022’. According to official figures, so far more than five lakh Brazilian citizens have lost their lives due to COVID. At the same time, Supreme Court Judge Rosa Weber said that an investigation has been ordered against President Bolsonaro after the recent testimony of the Senate committee investigating the government’s handling of the COVID epidemic.
Bolsonaro’s ‘wrong’ deeds will be investigated
Prosecutors will investigate whether Bolsonaro has committed the crime of lying. This includes delaying or avoiding action necessary for reasons of personal interest as part of the duty of a public official. Judge Rosa Weber did not rule out the possibility that other possible wrongdoings of Bolsonaro could be investigated. The investigation comes at a time when Luis Ricardo Miranda, head of the Health Ministry’s import department, said he faced undue pressure to sign imports of 20 million vaccine doses from Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech.
Advance payment made to Singapore company for vaccine
Luis Ricardo Miranda said there were irregularities in the invoices, specifically an advance payment of $45 million to a Singapore-based company. Miranda testified with her brother, Louis Miranda, before a Senate committee on June 25. Luis Miranda was an MP who had links with Bolsonaro. Both said they conveyed their concerns to Bolsonaro, who assured them that he would report the irregularities to the federal police. However, the police has not received any such complaint.
Also read: Covaccine surrounded by corruption allegations, Brazil suspends agreement with Bharat Biotech
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