Sao Paulo: Brazilian President Bolsonaro is facing political crisis due to his mishandling of COVID-19 pandemic which led to 6,00,000 deaths in Brazil. Investigation of Brazilian Parliamentary Committee (CPI) revealed Bolsonaro administration’s involvement in pending US$ 300mn deal laden with illegitimate and bribery charges to fast track procurement of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
The probe has been focused on why the president pushed for a costly vaccine which was not even approved by the Brazilian drug regulator or WHO? Reputation and credibility of Indian pharmaceutical company is exposed as evident in Brazilian vaccination procurement case. It is an example of ingrained corruption and mishandling (white collar crime) in India’s private and government sector.
The deal between the Indian company and Brazil’s ministry of health, brokered by a local firm, has become the main focus of the parliamentary commission of inquiry (CPI), which is investigating the handling of the pandemic by the government of President Jair Bolsonaro. Suspecting corruption in the deal, the senators are now treating it like a scandal as they sniff the money trail in the 1.6 billion reals ($300 million) contract for 20 million doses, the most expensive deal made by this country with each dose costing $15.
The parliamentary probe, which has already put Bolsonaro in a spot for promoting “preventive treatments” like hydroxychloroquine, is now focusing on why the president, who has repeatedly doubted the efficacy of vaccines like Pfizer and delayed their acquisition, pushed for a costly vaccine which was not even approved by the Brazilian drug regulator or the World Health Organisation.
A day after it was revealed that federal prosecutors were investigating if Precisa Medicamentos, the firm in the middle of the deal, was favoured by the government, Senator Renan Calheiros, the CPI rapporteur, said the commission would investigate all the “scandalous things” in the purchase of Covaxin. “It has drawn our attention because it is an unusual acquisition in all aspects. So, we will have a week to go deeper into everything that happened in the background,” said the senator.
Though Covaxin has made a lot of negative headlines in this country, this is the first time that a top politician has used the word “scandal” for the deal. As Senator Calheiros’s remarks came just days ahead of the Precisa Medicamentos’s chief appearing before the senate, it was a sign that the probe was ready to pin him down on the acquisition process and the payment.
The panel is already in possession of documents which show that the government aggressively pushed for a deal with Bharat Biotech. A report revealed on Saturday that a civil servant from the ministry of health had told federal prosecutors that he had suffered “unusual pressure” to guarantee the import of Covaxin. In a confidential testimony, obtained and published by Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, the official has accused Lieutenant Colonel Alex Lial Marinho, a confidante of former health minister Eduardo Pazuello, of pressurising him.
The senate began to investigate the Bolsonaro government’s “acts of omission and commission” in handling the pandemic in April. But in the past few weeks, with explosive information emerging, the probe has changed tack. It is now looking into corruption in the deals for medicines and vaccines, with focus on the purchase of hydroxychloroquine and Covaxin. The money trail for both these deals lead to India.
According to sources in Brasilia, the probe will try to find out if some far-right groups close to Bolsonaro got a cut in the exorbitant deal with the Indian company. The parliamentary panel, says a source, has acquired documents which show that the company which facilitated the negotiation between Brazil and Bharat Biotech received 500 million reals ($100 million), one third of the total amount, for its services. Though the ministry of health has denied paying any money to the company as yet, the questioning of Francisco Maximiano, the managing partner of Precisa Medicamentos, on Wednesday (June 23) is expected to focus on the amount in addition to the company’s past record and its connections. The Wire
