BRASILIA - Police in Brazil searched former president Jair Bolsonaro’s home and seized his cellphone on Wednesday in an investigation into allegations of falsifying Covid-19 vaccination records, an allegation the far-right vaccine sceptic denied.

Mr Bolsonaro, who faced widespread criticism as president for his unorthodox handling of the pandemic, denied faking a Covid-19 vaccination certificate for himself, accusing the authorities of trying to “fabricate” a case against him.

“There was no falsification on my part. None,” he told journalists clustered in the garage of his home in Brasilia after the early-morning raid.

“I haven’t been vaccinated, period,” he said.

“I’m surprised… by the search and seizure operation in an ex-president’s home, trying to fabricate a case.”

Mr Bolsonaro, 68, said police had also inspected his family’s vaccination records.

The former army captain, who led Brazil from 2019 to 2022, defied expert advice on managing Covid-19, which has claimed more than 700,000 lives in Brazil.

During his presidency, Mr Bolsonaro touted the medication hydroxychloroquine against the disease, despite studies finding it ineffective, and joked the vaccine could “turn you into an alligator”.

Federal police confirmed they were investigating “the insertion of falsified Covid-19 vaccination data” into the Health Ministry’s electronic vaccination records system, but did not mention Mr Bolsonaro by name.

“The falsified entries, which occurred between November 2021 and December 2022, resulted in the alteration of the true Covid-19 vaccination status of the individuals in question,” police said in a statement.

“As a result, the individuals were able to emit vaccination certificates and use them to evade health restrictions put in place by the authorities in Brazil and the United States.”

Mr Bolsonaro left Brazil for the US in December, after losing a bitterly divisive election to veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The US requires international air travellers to present proof of vaccination against Covid-19, a requirement the White House announced Monday would end on May 11.

The requirement does not apply to foreign government officials.

Mr Bolsonaro said he had not been asked to present proof of vaccination in the Us where he arrived on Dec 30, 2022 – the second-to-last day of his presidency.

He applied for a six-month visa to remain in the US as a private citizen after the end of his presidential term.

A close ally of former US president Donald Trump, Mr Bolsonaro stayed in Orlando, Florida, until late March, snubbing Mr Lula’s inauguration on Jan 1.

Top aide arrested

Police said they were carrying out 16 search and seizure orders and executing six arrest warrants as part of the operation.

Brazilian media reports said police had arrested a top Bolsonaro aide, army officer Mauro Cid.

Mr Bolsonaro returned to Brazil on March 30, vowing to fight Lula’s government in his new job as honorary president of his Liberal Party, but faces numerous legal battles.

He has already faced questioning by federal police in two cases.

One was over accusations of inciting riots inside the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court on Jan 8 by supporters refusing to accept his election loss.

The other was over accusations he tried to illegally keep millions of dollars’ worth of diamond jewellery received as a gift from Saudi Arabia during his presidency.

He faces a total of four Supreme Court investigations that could send him to prison, and 16 cases before Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

The TSE, which is notably investigating Mr Bolsonaro’s unproven claims of fraud in the country’s voting system, could strip him of his right to run for office for eight years, taking him out of the 2026 presidential race. AFP