On Tuesday, the Brazilian Police filed charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro for criminal association, use of false data in official records, and fraud in his COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
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The Prosecutor's Office will now analyze the Police's findings and decide whether to file a formal complaint with the Justice system or to close the case.
According to the investigation, in the last two years of his term, the far-right politician operated an illicit network involving military personnel, advisors, politicians, and doctors.
This network allowed Bolsonaro and his associates to falsify vaccination certificates to evade COVID-related restrictions in Brazil and other countries during the pandemic.
The Federal Police found evidence of wrongdoing against 16 citizens, including the former presidential aide, Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, who was arrested in May 2023.
Currently, he is on provisional release after signing an agreement with authorities in which he confessed and provided evidence of what happened.
The text says: "He wanted to carry out a coup! Yesterday, Fantastic broadcast a special report on the coup plot, showing every step of this attack against Brazilian democracy. Bolsonaro, who was not going to win the elections, wanted to take power any cost. NO to amnesty!"
Bolsonaro, a COVID-19 denier whose administration saw over 710,000 Brazilians die from the pandemic, instructed Lieutenant Colonel Cid to obtain vaccination certificates for himself and his daughter Laura.
The Police also discovered that Bolsonaro's fake vaccination documents were issued in December 2022, a few days days before he traveled to the United States, on the eve of Lula Da Silva's inauguration as President of Brazil.
Authorities are conducting further investigations against Bolsonaro related to the illegal appropriation of high-value gifts that the far-right politician received on trips abroad and which should be part of the State's assets. Among them are jewels given by Saudi Arabia.
The Federal Police is also continuing to investigate Bolsonaro's involvement in the attempted coup against President Lula on January 8, 2023, when far-right militants attacked the headquarters of the three branches in Brasilia.