Brazilian Senator Randolfe Rodrigues on Monday filed a formal criminal complaint with the Brazilian Supreme Court against President Jair Bolsonaro for his role in a possible fraudulent deal between the Brazilian government and Bharat Biotech, an Indian producer of, among other things, corona vaccines.
–
Bolsonaro denies any involvement in that deal, saying on Monday he was not aware of any irregularities. However, a health ministry whistleblower has said he personally pointed out to the president that he was pressured by his superiors to buy the vaccines.
–
Senator Rodrigues’ failure to act after being informed of the existence of a massive corruption scheme within the Ministry of Health prompted Senator Rodrigues to request the Court to open an investigation into Bolsonaro.
–
Dubious deal investigated
The contract with Bharat is already under investigation by federal prosecutors and lawmakers to uncover why the government struck a swift deal with a producer’s agent after Pfizer’s offers for lower-priced vaccines were ignored. The contract under investigation concerns 20 million doses of the vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech and is worth 268 million euros (1.6 billion Brazilian reals).
–
Prosecutors cited relatively high prices and quick decision-making as red flags for the contract with Bharat, which was signed in February this year. Rodrigues, who represents the opposition party Rede Sustentabilidade, is a member of a Senate committee investigating how the government is dealing with the corona pandemic.
–
It remains to be seen whether Rodrigues’ request will be accepted by the Supreme Court, but the seriousness of the charges may play a role in the run-up to next year’s presidential election.
–
–
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
–
–
:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/NQEL6TD35VGFPF4KUNJGRU5HTY.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1)
