Brazil's Bolsonaro indicted for suspected fraud on vaccine records

Brazil's federal police indicted the country's former president Jair Bolsonaro for suspected fraud on his vaccination records, two sources related to the matter said on Tuesday.

An investigation by the country's comptroller general's office had already shown that Bolsonaro's vaccination records were false.

In addition to Bolsonaro, one of his former aides, Mauro Cid, who was arrested in May last year as part of the investigation, was also indicted.

According to the sources, Bolsonaro was indicted on charges of entering false data into the country's Unified Health System (SUS) and forming a criminal organization.

Contacted by Reuters, the former president reiterated that he had not taken the COVID-19 vaccine and said he was calm.

"It's a selective investigation. I'm calm, I don't owe anything," said Bolsonaro. "The world knows that I didn't take the vaccine."

During his tenure, Bolsonaro repeatedly downplayed the importance of immunization and social distancing measures during the pandemic, which killed more than 700,000 people in Brazil.