Senator Chico Rodrગ્guez, who represents the state of Roraima in the federal senate, confirmed that his home in Bora Vista, the capital of Roraima, was raided. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Citing a police investigation, according to a Supreme Court order, the police video states that Rodriguez had about 15,000 ryes (approximately 7 2,700) in his briefcase during a search of the home. Authorities For a total cash of more than કે 5,800, the senator alleged that more money was received by officials when he “put his hand inside his underwear and took another bundle of 17,900 raisins in total.”
The judge did not authorize the release of the video.
A court order issued Thursday suspended Rodriguez for 90 days to ensure compliance with an ongoing investigation.
CNN Brazil has reached out to Rodriguez’s office fee for comment.
However, in a statement to the press, Rodriguez suggested that the search was an attempt to tarnish his image. He wrote, “I invaded my home just to do my job as an MP, bringing a tool for the state health department to fight the Covid-1 fight.”
“I will prove that I do not have and I have nothing wrong to do,” he wrote.
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court Minister Luis Roberto Barroso wrote that an investigation was needed to determine whether Rodriguez was “using his parliamentary work to divert money to deal with the biggest epidemic in the last 100 years.”
According to the court order, “there are indications of the senator’s involvement in a criminal organization intended to deviate the values created for the Kovid-19 related measures in Roraima State.” Federal police investigators also said the money found in the senator’s body during the raid had not been found to have a legal origin, and that the embezzlement benefit was being investigated because of the high-cost deal.
Federal legislators in Brazil are protected from criminal proceedings in most cases by parliamentary immunity.
The raid was part of a series of police investigations into possible misuse of public resources to fight the devastating coronavirus epidemic in Brazil. More than 115,000 people have died, and more than .1.1 million have been infected, making it the third most censored country in the world.
Rodriguez was chosen by President Bolsonaro as the deputy leader of the government on an anti-corruption platform.
“I say to those who know me: be quiet. I believe in justice and I will prove that I do not have and I have nothing to do wrong,” Rodriguez wrote in his statement.
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