The Federal Police launched a second operation to investigate former President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies for fraudulently producing fake Covid vaccination certificates in 2022. The operation involved executing search and seizure warrants in Rio de Janeiro and Duque de Caxias.
The targets of the operation were identified as Washington Reis, Rio Janeiro’s transportation secretary, and Célia Serrano, Duque de Caxias’s municipal health secretary. Both individuals were implicated in falsifying public vaccine records according to a Federal Police report from March 2024.
The investigation, which began in May 2023, revealed that individuals close to Bolsonaro were involved in creating fraudulent vaccination certificates. Lt.-Col. Mauro Cid, an aide-de-camp to Bolsonaro, was arrested in connection to the case and later agreed to a plea bargain.
Mr. Bolsonaro allegedly never received a Covid shot and used the fake certificates to bypass vaccination requirements, such as during a trip to the United Nations where he famously avoided showing a vaccine certificate by eating pizza on the street. The Federal Prosecution Office will decide whether to pursue an indictment in this case.
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