Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, under growing pressure to explain his role in a vaccine deal with India’s Bharat Biotech, said there were no irregularities in the contract for the Covaxin COVID-19 shot.
“There is nothing wrong with the Covaxin contract, there is no overpricing,” he was quoted as saying by Reuters on Friday.
The president added that his enemies were trying to stain his government with unfounded accusations of corruption.
“I am incorruptible,” he said.
Bolsonaro’s comments came ahead of Senate testimony from two brothers who said they personally flagged their concerns about the deal to the president. The hearing is the most anticipated event yet in a high-profile Senate investigation of the government’s handling of the pandemic, which has killed half a million Brazilians.
According to Bloomberg, Luis Ricardo Miranda, brother of the lawmaker and an official of the Health Ministry, told the senators that in the analysis of the documents involving the purchase…