Bolsonaro says he did not have false data inserted in a statement to the PF

Investigation

The former president was heard for three and a half hours at the headquarters of the Federal Police this Tuesday (16)

Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) testified to the Federal Police, in Brasília, this Tuesday (5/16). The inquiry is related to the alleged counterfeit scheme on the vaccine card. He arrived at the scene around 1:30 pm and began to be heard at 2:00 pm. The hearing ended at 5:55 pm.

In one of the questions, the former head of the Executive was asked about conversations collected on the cell phone of his former aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, and himself, which were seized in Operation Venire, by the Federal Police, in the Federal District. . Bolsonaro denied any involvement with irregularities.

The main investigation points to a possible adulteration of the vaccination certificate on the Ministry of Health platform. The PF also wants to know if the scheme benefited itself. In total, Jair Bolsonaro answered 60 questions and did not refuse to address any issue raised by investigators.

The Federal Police wanted to find out from the former president whether he was aware of the scheme and whether he had given the order to access the ConectSUS system, of the Ministry of Health, where data on vaccination against covid-19 were entered on the cards.

At the time, presenting this document at US customs was a requirement for most people. On May 3, the PF searched Bolsonaro’s home in Brasília, in an attempt to find evidence of the former president’s involvement in the scheme. Six people were arrested. Among them, Colonel Mauro Cid and other former advisers to Bolsonaro as President of the Republic.

What does the PF investigate?

The PF is investigating whether Bolsonaro was aware of the scheme and whether the access order to the Ministry of Health system was based on it, where data on vaccination against covid-19 were entered and then removed.

On May 3, the Federal Police carried out searches at the former president’s house, in Brasília, to find evidence of Bolsonaro’s involvement in the scheme. His cell phone was seized by the authorities. On the same day, he spoke to the press and stated that he had not been vaccinated against covid-19, and that his and his daughter’s vaccination cards had not been tampered with. He refused to testify to the PF on the day of the operation, claiming that his defense needed access to the investigation, which is why the deposition was scheduled for this Tuesday.

Prisons

During the operation launched by the Federal Police, six suspects of involvement in the fraud scheme were arrested. Among them, Colonel Mauro Cid, Bolsonaro’s former assistant. Cid would have entered false information into ConectSUS to obtain illicit advantages and issue false vaccination certificates against covid-19 for himself, his wife and three daughters.

The ex-president’s vaccination data were included in the Ministry of Health’s system in Duque de Caxias, the same city where Cid allegedly obtained his wife’s vaccination card, according to the PF.

A nurse from the city hall of Duque de Caxias, in Rio de Janeiro, confirmed to the Federal Police that she lent the password to the municipal secretary of the Government of Duque de Caxias (RJ), João Carlos de Sousa Brecha, to delete the vaccination records of the former President Jair Bolsonaro. Breach was also arrested during the May 3 operation.

Photo: Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) at the headquarters of the Federal Police (PF), in Brasília

Wilton Junior/Estadão Content